abgetötete

Abgetötete is a German participial adjective derived from the verb abtöten, meaning to kill off or to eliminate. The formation combines the prefix ab- with töten and yields the past participle abgetötet, which can function as an adjective or in compound phrases. When used attributively before a noun, it inflects like a standard weak adjective: der abgetötete Mann, die abgetötete Frau, das abgetötete Tier. In plural form you would have die abgetöteten Männer, die abgetöteten Tiere.

The noun form Abgetötete (capitalized) is also used in German to refer collectively to people or things that have been killed, for example in reporting or memorial contexts: Die Abgetöteten wurden identifiziert. This noun usage emphasizes the victims as a group rather than as a single individual.

Usage notes and nuance: abgetötet stresses that life or existence has been ended or eliminated, often in contexts involving violence, warfare, or deliberate removal. It is more specific than the generic getötet (killed) and can carry an implicature of an intentional act or a process of removal (for example, in medical, biological, or strategic contexts).

See also: töten, abtöten, getötet.