Verbreitetste

Verbreitetste is a German attributive superlative form of the adjective verbreitet, meaning most widely spread or most prevalent. It is used to identify the item in a set that has the greatest distribution or acceptance.

In usage, verbreitetste is declined like other adjectives after a determiner. Common examples include der verbreitetste Fehler, die verbreitetste Theorie, das verbreitetste Muster, and die verbreitetsten Gründe. Without a determiner, strong endings are used and the form changes with case, number, and gender. The adverbial equivalent of the phrase is typically am weitesten verbreitet, meaning “most widely distributed.”

Etymology and sense: the adjective verbreitet derives from the verb verbreiten (to spread). The superlative conveys extremity within a group, for example identifying the most widespread misconception or practice in a given context.

Usage notes: verbreitetste is most natural in formal or analytical writing when comparing multiple items. It can describe phenomena, opinions, methods, or patterns that are judged to be the most common or far-reaching within a specified domain. In many everyday contexts, German speakers may instead use phrases such as am am weitesten verbreitet or die weitest verbreitete Ansicht for smoother usage.

Related terms include verbreitet (spread out), verbreitert (more widely spread, in a comparative sense), and weit verbreitet (widely distributed). Verbreitetste is a precise, stylistically formal option for highlighting the pinnacle of spread or prevalence in a dataset or discussion.