abschließende

Abschließende is a German attributive adjective derived from the verb abschließen, meaning to close or finalize. It conveys the sense that something is final, conclusive, or intended to bring a matter to a close. The word is commonly used to describe phases, decisions, documents, or actions that complete a process, such as abschließende Maßnahmen (final measures) or das abschließende Kapitel (the concluding chapter).

Grammar and usage

As an attributive adjective, abschließende changes its ending to agree with gender, case, and number of the noun it modifies. Examples:

- der abschließende Bericht (masculine, nominative)

- die abschließende Prüfung (feminine, nominative)

- das abschließende Ergebnis (neuter, nominative)

- die abschließenden Berichte (plural, nominative)

- den abschließenden Bericht (masculine, accusative)

- dem abschließenden Bericht (masculine, dative)

In many contexts, abschließend (with the -end suffix) is used as a predicative or adverbial form meaning “concluding” or “in conclusion.” For example, Abschließend lässt sich sagen, dass… translates to “In conclusion, it can be said that…”.

Etymology and related terms

The adjective stems from abschließen, with the prefix ab- signaling a sense of completion or end. Related terms include Abschluss (closure, completion), which is a noun, and abschließend as a standalone adverbial form. The distinction between abschließend (concluding) and abschließend as an adverb is primarily syntactic: using the form before a noun for attribution, or as a sentence-initial adverb for concluding remarks.

Notes on usage

Abschließende is typical in formal or technical writing, contracts, reports, and academic texts where a final phase or result is being described. It is less common in casual speech, where simpler expressions like final oder letzte may be preferred.