definiertes

Definiertes is a form of the German adjective derived from the verb definieren and used attributively to describe a noun as having been defined or specified. It is most commonly found with neuter singular nouns, where the form denotes that the noun has undergone a defining process or has a defined status.

Morphology and usage

In German, adjectives that modify a noun without a preceding definite article often take a strong ending, while those following a definite article take a weak ending. Definiertes is the neuter singular ending -es and appears, for example, with an indefinite article or no article: ein definiertes Ziel, ein definiertes Beispiel, oder simply definiertes Ziel. With a definite determiner as in das definierte Ziel, the attributive form becomes definierte. The plural form is definierte Ziele (or simply definierte in some contexts with no article).

Semantic field

The term is widely used across disciplines to express that something is precisely specified, determined, or clarified. In mathematics, das definiertes Integral refers to a definite integral with specified limits. In linguistics, philosophy, and computer science, definierte Elemente, Konzepte or Parameter denote items that have been explicitly defined.

Related forms

Definieren is the verb from which definiertes is derived. Related words include Definition (the noun for a formal explanation of meaning) and definierte, the feminine and plural adjective forms in various grammatical contexts. The sense of definiertes emphasizes concreteness and specification, as opposed to undefinierte (undefined) or unbestimmte (indefinite).

See also

Definieren, Definition, definierte, definierte Begriffe, definite integral.