förenas

Förenas is a Swedish verb meaning “to unite” or “to come together.” It is primarily used in passive or reflexive voice; the active counterpart is förena, whose present tense is förenar. The infinitive and the present passive form share the spelling förenas, while the active past tense is förenade and the passive past tense is förenades. The supine (past participle) is förenats.

Etymology and related forms: förenas is formed from the stem fören- (to unite) with the suffix -as, a common ending for infinitives and present-passive forms in Swedish. Related languages in the region (Danish and Norwegian) use similar forms, such as forenes and forenes, with analogous meanings.

Usage and nuance: förenas is used when describing a process by which actors—such as countries, organizations, or people—join into a single entity or align around a shared goal. It often appears in formal or historical contexts, for example: “Länderna förenades 1905.” or “De förenas i en gemensam kamp.” The verb tends to emphasize the outcome of forming a union rather than merely reaching an agreement; synonyms include enas (to agree) and gå samman (to join forces), while sammanfoga or fusion emphasize merging into a new entity.

See also: förening (an association or society), fusion, sammanslagning (merger), gå samman. The root also appears in Förenta Nationerna (The United Nations) and related terms.

Overall, förenas is a standard term in Swedish for describing the act or result of uniting groups, states, or efforts in a shared purpose.