gründlichsten

Gründlichsten is the superlative form of the German adjective gründlich, meaning thorough or meticulous. It denotes the highest degree of thoroughness within a group and is used to compare multiple items or actions. In everyday usage, it often appears before plural nouns to describe the most thorough items, for example: die gründlichsten Details or die gründlichsten Untersuchungen. It can also function adverbially in phrases like am gründlichsten, meaning "most thoroughly."

Morphology and usage notes: The superlative is formed from gründlich with the suffix -sten. The exact ending of the word depends on case, gender, and number. In attributive position before plural nouns with a definite determiner, you typically see die gründlichsten … ; in other contexts the form may vary (for example, am gründlichsten as an adverb). The form grunnlichsten can also appear in masculine or neuter singular in certain dative constructions, such as mit dem gründlichsten Plan, illustrating the adjective’s inflection patterns in German.

Etymology: gründlich derives from Grund (ground, foundation) with the suffix -lich, indicating characteristic of or pertaining to. The superlative ending -sten attaches to express the highest degree of that characteristic.

Usage context: The word is common in formal or analytical writing, reports, and descriptions where precision and completeness are emphasized. It conveys a strong qualitative judgment about thoroughness, often in evaluative or comparative statements. Related terms include Gründlichkeit (thoroughness) and gründlicher (more thorough), which provide related degrees of emphasis.

See also: Gründlichkeit, gründlich, gründlichkeitsbegriff. Further reading on German adjective declension and superlatives can provide additional examples of the form across genders and cases.