gewaltvolle

Gewaltvolle is a German adjective meaning full of violence or violent. It is formed from the noun Gewalt (violence) and the suffix -voll, which conveys the sense of “full of” or “rich in.” The term is used to describe things rather than people, such as scenes, imagery, or atmosphere, that convey a high degree of violence or force.

In practice, gewaltvolle is less common in everyday speech than gewalttätig, which is the standard term for a person or act that is violent. Gewaltvolle tends to appear in literary, critical, or media contexts to emphasize the density or intensity of violence in a work. Examples include a gewaltvolle Szene (a violent or intense scene) or ein gewaltvolles Finale (a violent, climactic ending). It can describe visual content as well as tonal or emotional atmosphere.

Inflection and usage: as an attributive adjective it follows typical German inflection patterns, for example "eine gewaltvolle Szene," "ein gewaltvolles Bild," "gewaltvolle Momente." The comparative and superlative forms exist (gewaltvoller, am gewaltvollsten) but are rarely needed in ordinary writing.

Etymology and related terms: gewaltvolle is derived from Gewalt (violence) with the suffix -voll. Related terms include Gewalttätigkeit (violence, acts of violence) and Gewalttäter (violent offender). The term generally carries a descriptive, sometimes evaluative, nuance and is most often found in critique, analysis, or descriptive writing rather than formal or legal contexts.