geschwächtes

Geschwächtes is a German attributive adjective form derived from the past participle geschwächt, meaning “weakened” or “weakened in strength.” It is used to describe something that has become weaker and is inflected to agree with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case, as well as with the determiner (if any).

In practice, geschwächtes appears most clearly in neuter singular constructions. For example, without a determiner one can encounter geschwächtes Immunsystem (an immune system that is weakened). With a definite article, the ending changes to das geschwächte Immunsystem. With an indefinite article, one would say ein geschwächtes Immunsystem. The form also varies with other genders and numbers: der geschwächte Mann (masculine, definite article), eine geschwächte Verfassung (feminine), die geschwächten Systeme (plural, definite article). In plural without a determiner, one may find geschwächte Systeme (weakened systems).

Common contexts for the term are medical, physiologic, and metaphorical. In health-related language, geschwächtes is used to describe a diminished physiological state or resilience, as in geschwächtes Immunsystem or geschwächte Ausdauer. Figurative uses include expressions like geschwächte Verfassung, geschwächter Widerstand oder geschwächter Wirtschaftsstand, where the sense is one of reduced strength or resilience rather than literal illness.

Etymologically, geschwächtes is part of the broader pattern in German where the prefix ge- marks participial forms that can function as adjectives. The form and meaning align with the underlying verb schwächen (to weaken) and its past participle geschwächt.

Related terms include schwach (weak), Schwächung (weakening), and geschwächt as a past participle in predicate position, as in Der Patient ist geschwächt.