Verwunden

Verwunden is a German verb meaning to wound someone, either physically by an injury or, in a figurative sense, to hurt someone emotionally. It is a transitive verb and typically takes a direct object in the accusative (for example: Er hat ihn verwundet).

Morphology and usage notes: The base form is verwunden. The past participle is verwundet, which combines with the auxiliary haben to form the Perfekt: Er hat ihn verwundet. In the simple past, the verb can appear as verwundete (conjugated for different subjects in the preterite). The prefix ver- in this verb is not separable, so the participle remains verwundet rather than separated forms like ver-…-t.

Etymology: The verb derives from the prefix ver- plus Wunde (wound), rooted in the Germanic family of words for injury. It shares semantic territory with other injury-related verbs such as verletzen, but verwunden emphasizes the act of causing a wound rather than a general harm.

Usage and nuance: Verwunden is used for both physical wounds and metaphorical hurts. In medical contexts it describes an injury that breaks the skin or tissue, while in everyday language it can mean an emotional or figurative wound (eine Bemerkung hat ihn verwundet). The passive form Er wurde verwundet is common for indicating a person who has sustained injuries.

Related forms: Nouns include Wunde (a wound) and Verwundung (a wound, injury, or act of wounding). The adjective verwundet means wounded, and Verwundeter/Verwundete can refer to a wounded person. The related adjective verwundbar means vulnerable, though it is formed with the suffix -bar rather than directly from verwunden.