epäluotettavalta

epäluotettavalta is the elative singular form of the Finnish adjective epäluotettava, meaning unreliable or untrustworthy. The form is not a separate word with a fixed meaning; it is a grammatical inflection used in specific constructions to describe something as seeming or originating from unreliability.

Usage and meaning

The base adjective epäluotettava is used both attributively and predicatively. In attributive position, it modifies a noun: epäluotettava lähde (an unreliable source), epäluotavat tiedot (unreliable data). In predicative and certain subordinate constructions, the elative form epäluotettavalta accompanies verbs such as kuulostaa or vaikuttaa to express that something seems unreliable: tiedot kuulostavat epäluotettavalta, päätelmät vaikuttavat epäluotettavalta (the information sounds unreliable; the conclusions appear unreliable).

Grammatical note

epäluotettava derives from luotettava (reliable) with the negating prefix epä-, indicating lack of reliability. The elative form epäluotettavalta is used with verbs that take complements in the elative case, a common pattern with words describing appearances, impressions, or sources. This distinction helps differentiate direct description (epäluotettava lähde) from impression-based assessment (tiedot kuulostavat epäluotettavalta).

See also

epäluotettava, epäluotettavuus, luotettava, lähde

References

Finnish language grammar resources on adjective inflection and predicative complements provide the general rules for elative usage of adjectives like epäluotettava.