entschieden

Entschieden is a German term that primarily serves as the past participle of the verb entscheiden, meaning to decide or determine. It can also function as an adjective or adverb, conveying a sense of decisiveness or firmness. In contemporary usage, it is often found in formal or written styles, with synonyms such as entschlossen or bestimmt appearing in more common speech.

Grammatical use and forms: As the past participle of entscheiden, entschieden appears with auxiliary haben to form perfect tenses, for example: Die Jury hat entschieden, wer gewinnt. In past narrative, the finite verb form entschied is used: Die Jury entschied, wer gewinnt. As an adjective, entschieden is less common than entschlossen, but it can appear attributively or predicatively to describe attitudes or outcomes, for instance: eine entschiedene Haltung. As an adverb, entschieden can modify a verb to express decisiveness, as in: Sie lehnte das Angebot entschieden ab, oder Er trat entschieden gegen den Plan auf.

Usage notes: Entschieden often conveys a stronger, more formal nuance than similar adjectives. In many contexts, speakers choose entschlossen (decisive) or bestimmt (firm) as more everyday equivalents. The phrase gegen den Plan can be paired with entschieden to describe a clear, definite stance: Er war entschieden gegen den Plan.

See also: Entscheidungen (decisions), entscheiden (to decide), entschlossen (decisive).