Verlaufend

Verlaufend is a German adjective or participle derived from the verb verlaufen. It denotes that something develops, progresses, or unfolds over time. The prefix ver- combined with laufen (to run) gives a sense of a process rather than a static state. Grammatically, verlaufend is used attributively or predicatively with nouns that describe processes, conditions, or developments. It is closely related to terms such as fortschreitend or sich entwickelnd and is more common in formal or technical contexts.

In medical language, verlaufend describes the course of a disease or symptoms, for example in phrases like verlaufende Erkrankung or verlaufende Beschwerden, signaling that the condition is currently progressing. Beyond medicine, it can describe ongoing processes or developments, such as verlaufende Prozesse or verlaufende Entwicklungen, though in everyday usage other words like fortschreitend or laufend may be preferred depending on the context. The standard noun form Verlauf refers to the course or progression itself, as in im Verlauf der Krankheit, meaning in the course of the illness.

The form verlaufend is distinct from the separable verb sich verlaufen, which means to get lost; the two should not be confused in meaning or usage. In practice, verlaufend emphasizes the temporal progression of a process, whereas verlaufen (the verb) can have unrelated senses such as to run astray or to smear, depending on context.

See also: Verlauf, laufend, fortschreitend, Entwicklung.