Teravustatakse

Teravustatakse is the present passive form of the Estonian verb teravustada. The base meaning is to sharpen or to make something sharper, but the word is also used figuratively to mean intensifying or escalating a situation, argument, or rhetoric. In the passive form, the action is described as being done to a subject, with the agent left unspecified.

Etymology and related terms: teravustatakse derives from teravus, meaning sharpness, and employs the common Estonian suffix -ustada to form the verb teravustada. Related nouns include teravus (sharpness) and teravustamine (the act of sharpening or increasing intensity).

Grammar and usage: Teravustatakse is a present tense, passive construction. It is used when the subject is undergoing sharpening or intensification, and the doer is not named. It is common in journalistic and analytical writing to describe debates, rhetoric, or tensions that are becoming more severe, as well as in literal contexts involving tools or weapons being sharpened. Example sentences include: Arutelu teravustatakse, kui väited muutuvad teravamaks; Väide teravustatakse meedias. Such usage emphasizes the change in intensity rather than the performer of the action.

See also: teravus, teravustamine, teravustada.