Verschuldeter

Verschuldeter is a German term that can function as an adjective or a noun. As an adjective, verschuldeter describes a masculine noun that is in debt or owes money, for example in phrases like ein verschuldeter Staat or ein verschuldeter Käufer. In everyday language, the shorter form verschuldet is more common for the generic state of debt. As a noun, Verschuldeter may denote a person who is indebted, but in legal and formal writing the standard term for this is Schuldner; Verschuldeter is used more rarely and typically in specific contexts.

Usage and nuance. The word emphasizes the status of being in debt. It is more common in formal, juridical, or financial texts to refer to a debtor in descriptive passages. The feminine and plural forms exist in principle (for example, die Verschuldete as the feminine, die Verschuldeten as the plural), but in practice, Schuldner and Schuldenbearbeitungen are often preferred. The related noun Verschuldung denotes indebtedness or the act of incurring debt, and is widely used in economic reporting and policy discussions.

Etymology. Verschschuldeter derives from Schuld (debt) with the prefix ver-, which in this family of words signals a state or condition. The same root yields the verb verschulden, which can mean to incur debt or, in a different sense, to be at fault for causing something (as in einen Unfall verschulden).

In summary, verschuldeter is a formal or stylistic option to refer to someone who owes money, with Schuldner serving as the more common legal term, and Verschuldung as the general concept of indebtedness.