angegriffen

Angegriffen is the past participle of the German verb angreifen, meaning to attack or assault. It is used both in passive constructions and as an adjective meaning that someone or something has been attacked. Examples include Der Ort ist angegriffen worden (The place has been attacked) and Die Stellung ist angegriffen (The position is under attack). The participle also appears in active sequences with the auxiliary haben: Er hat den Gegner angegriffen (He attacked the opponent).

Etymology and formation: Angegriffen comes from the prefix an- attached to greifen (to seize, grasp, attack). The verb angreifen develops from Old High German forms and related Germanic roots expressing the sense of reaching out to attack. In modern German, the past participle angegriffen is formed without the ge- prefix that some separable-prefix verbs take in other forms.

Grammar and usage: Angreifen is a separable-prefix verb; in the present tense the prefix splits: Er greift den Gegner an. In perfect tense the past participle remains angegriffen, used with haben: Er hat den Gegner angegriffen. When used attributively, it inflects like an adjective: eine angegriffene Festung, angegriffene Stellungen, angegriffene Systeme. In predicative constructions, one can say Die Stadt ist angegriffen worden or Die Stadt wurde angegriffen.

In context: Angegriffen is common in military, sports, and political discourse, as well as in figurative language such as systems or institutions being attacked. Related terms include Angriff (attack) and to compare with synonyms like angreifen or attackieren.