Tunnustetut

Tunnustetut is a Finnish term formed as the plural past passive participle of tunnustaa, meaning to confess or to acknowledge. It functions as an adjective or, less commonly, as a substantive in plural to refer to people or things that have confessed or been publicly acknowledged. The singular form is tunnustettu.

Formation and agreement: The participle is derived from tunnustaa with the typical Finnish past passive suffix -ttu/-tty, yielding tunnustettu in the singular and tunnustetut in the plural. It agrees in number and case with the noun it modifies, for example tunnustetut rikokset (the confessed crimes) or tunnustetut henkilöt (the confessed individuals).

Usage: Tunnustetut appears most in formal, legal, or investigative writing, where it describes acts, facts, or persons that have confessed. It should not be confused with tunnustus (confession, noun) or tunnustaa (to confess) or with the past-tense verb forms such as tunnusti.

Notes: The term can carry implications about the voluntariness or credibility of the confession; context determines whether it denotes admission of guilt or general acknowledgment. In everyday Finnish, speakers often prefer more specific phrasing, and might use constructions like “rikoksesta tunnustuksen tehnyt” or “myöntänyt,” rather than relying on tunnustetut as a stand-alone term.

Examples:

- Tunnustetut rikokset listattiin raportissa. (The confessed crimes were listed in the report.)

- Tunnustetut syylliset olivat oikeudenkäynnin kohteena. (The confessed guilty parties were the subject of the trial.)