erheblichen

Erheblich is a German adjective meaning significant, substantial, or considerable. The form erheblichen is an inflected ending used in attributive position after determiners or in phrases requiring a specific case ending. It is particularly common with plural nouns: die erheblichen Kosten, die erheblichen Auswirkungen. It also appears in other cases, for example in feminine singular in the dative: mit der erheblichen Mühe, and in plural phrases such as mit erheblichen Schwierigkeiten.

In isolation, the base form is erheblich, with the standard declension pattern: erhebliche (plural nominative/accusative), erhebliches (neuter singular), erheblicher/erhebliche/erhebliches depending on gender, case, and article. The form erheblichen is the common ending after definite or possessive determiners in plural or in certain singular feminine or plural phrases, such as in den erheblichen Unterschieden or mit erheblichen Problemen.

Usage and nuance: erheblich is often employed in formal, administrative, or analytic language to indicate a magnitude or impact that is measurable or noteworthy. It is frequently collocated with nouns like Auswirkungen (impacts), Kosten (costs), Unterschiede (differences), Risiken (risks), or Schwierigkeiten (difficulties). It can be synonymous with bedeutend, wesentlich, or beträchtlich, though slight nuances exist: erheblich emphasizes degree or extent, while bedeutend stresses importance and wesentlich stresses essential character.

Translation into English varies by context but commonly corresponds to significant, substantial, considerable, or noteworthy. The word is widely understood in professional and public discourse and is a standard descriptor for magnitude and consequence.