fordømme

Fordømme is a verb used in Danish and Norwegian to express condemnation of someone or something. It can refer to a formal judgment by a court that someone is guilty and to condemn them to punishment; it can also describe strong disapproval in moral, social, or political discourse. The related noun fordømmelse denotes the act or result of condemning, while fordømmende is an adjective describing a condemnatory or disapproving tone.

Etymology and usage notes: The term is of Germanic origin, built from the root related to dom (judgment) with the prefix for-, which in these languages often signals direction or intensity. The sense of condemning in both legal and moral contexts is reflected in its cognate forms across related Scandinavian languages.

Contexts and examples: In legal contexts, a sentence may be described as a condemnation, for example, the court condemned the defendant to a prison term. In everyday language, one might say that society condemns a certain action as unacceptable. In religious or doctrinal discourse, fordømme can refer to divine judgment or condemnation to punishment, though interpretations vary by tradition. Common collocations include fordømme noe/noen (to condemn something/someone), fordømmelse (condemnation), and fordømmende (condemnatory).

See also: dom, fordømmelse, fordømmende.