festgestellt

Festgestellt is the past participle of the German verb feststellen. It is used with the auxiliary haben to form the perfect tense and to express that someone has ascertained or established a fact, condition, or result. The verb feststellen means to determine, ascertain, or establish by observation or inquiry. The prefix fest- attached to stellen makes the compound verb inseparable, so the participle remains attached in all tenses (Ich habe festgestellt; Es wurde festgestellt).

In addition to its verbal use, festgestellt can function as an attributive or predicative adjective meaning “determined” or “established.” Examples include die festgestellten Werte, ein festgestellter Befund, or die festgestellte Diagnose. When used attributively, the word takes ordinary adjective endings (die festgestellten Werte, ein festgestellter Befund). Predicative use is common as well: Die Werte sind festgestellt. The infinitive with zu, festzustellen, occurs in constructions like Es ist festzustellen, ob weitere Maßnahmen erforderlich sind.

Usage and register: festgestellt is frequent in formal writing, official reports, medical and scientific contexts, and journalism. It conveys a neutral, objective sense of an observation or conclusion that has been verified. It is typically preferred in bureaucratic or technical language over more colloquial synonyms, though it can be complemented by verwandte terms such as feststellen, ermitteln, or bestimmen, depending on nuance.

See also: feststellen, ermitteln, bestimmen.