ausgezeichnete

Ausgezeichnete is the attributive form of the German adjective ausgezeichnet, meaning excellent or outstanding. In contemporary German it is used to describe people, objects, or performances that meet high quality standards. The form appears before a noun and agrees in gender, number, and case with that noun.

Morphology and usage

As an attributive adjective, ausgzeichnete changes its ending depending on the noun it accompanies. For example: eine ausgezeichnete Leistung (feminine singular, indefinite article), das ausgezeichnete Buch (neuter singular, definite article), or ausgezeichnete Ergebnisse (plural, no article). With a definite article the endings follow the weak declension, while without an article the strong declension may yield ausgezeichnete in plural or other forms in different cases. Predicative use is typically rakenn from the verb sein, bleiben, werden: Die Leistung ist ausgezeichnet. In this usage, the form does not take the attributive ending.

Meaning and context

Ausgezeichnete is common in ratings, awards, product descriptions, and evaluations. It can describe quality, skill, or achievement, and is often used to emphasize high standards. It is synonymous with exzellent, hervorragend, vortrefflich, and erstklassig, though each word carries its own nuance and typical collocations.

Etymology and related forms

The adjective derives from auszeichnen, meaning to distinguish or to mark out, with the prefix aus- and zeichnen (to draw/mark). The sense evolved to “outstanding” or “highly distinguished.” The past participle form used in other constructions is ausgezeichnet, for example in habe ausgezeichnet or wurde ausgezeichnet.

See also

German adjectives by declension, predicative versus attributive use, and related terms for language style and evaluation.