déclenchées

Declenchées is the feminine plural past participle of the French verb déclencher. It is used as an adjective or in the passive voice to describe actions, reactions, or mechanisms that have been set off, started, or provoked. For example, in a sentence like les réactions déclenchées par l’annonce, the participle agrees with the feminine plural noun réactions.

Form and agreement: as a participle, déclenchées agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies. It can appear within various tenses that require a past participle, such as the passé composé with an implicit or explicit passive construction (les alarmes ont été déclenchées) or as a plain adjective (des mécanismes déclenchés/déclenchées, depending on the noun). When used with être in a passive construction, it consistently reflects the subject’s gender and number.

Usage and nuance: déclenchées conveys that something has been activated or initiated due to a trigger, stimulus, or preceding event. It is common in journalism, psychology, engineering, politics, and everyday language to describe consequences or processes that were not voluntary but caused by an earlier condition or action. Synonyms or near-synonyms include provoquées, activées, or lancées, though each term carries its own nuance.

Examples: des alarmes déclenchées par une alarme incendie; les réactions déclenchées par la crise; les mécanismes déclenchés par une politique publique.

See also: déclenchement, déclencheur, déclencher.