dringender

Dringender is the comparative form of the German adjective dringend, meaning more urgent or pressing. It is used to express a higher degree of urgency and can function both attributively before a noun and predicatively after a linking verb.

In attributive use, the ending of dringender depends on gender, number, and article. For example, with an indefinite article in masculine singular, you typically see ein dringender Termin (a more urgent or an urgent appointment, depending on context). With a definite article, der dringende Termin, or in plural die dringenden Termine, the endings differ accordingly. In comparisons, the form appears in contexts such as Der Termin ist dringender als der andere, where dringender expresses the comparative degree.

In practice, dringender is common in phrases indicating increasing urgency, such as dringender Handlungsbedarf (urgent need for action) or ein dringender Termin (an appointment that requires prompt attention). It is also used in the bare, positive sense before a noun when the surrounding context implies heightened urgency. Be aware that dringend is also used as an adverb meaning urgently, as in Es ist dringend erforderlich, which is a separate usage from the attributive adjective forms.

Etymology: the word derives from the verb dringen (to press, push) combined with adjective-forming suffixes, yielding both the sense of pressing urgency and its comparative degree.

See also: dringend, Dringlichkeit, Dringlichkeitsbegriff.