habituele

Habituele is a Dutch adjective derived from habitueel, meaning habitual or customary. In contemporary Dutch, habitueel describes actions or patterns that are typical or repeated as part of a habit. The form habituele is used when the adjective accompanies a noun in contexts where the definite form or feminine agreement would require the ending, for example before a feminine noun or in a definite noun phrase such as het habituele gedrag or de habituele dosering.

The term belongs to a family of words related to habit and routine. It is closely connected to the English word habitual and the French habituel, both of which share the same Latin root habitus. In Dutch usage, habitueel is common in formal, medical, psychological, or academic contexts, while more everyday language often prefers synonyms like gebruikelijk or gewoonlijk.

Usage notes and nuance: habitueel emphasizes behavior or patterns that arise from habit rather than mere frequency. It is different from gebruikelijk, which signals normality or typicality in a broader sense, and from gewoonlijk, which often denotes what is usually the case in a given situation. In practice, you may encounter phrases such as het habituele gedrag van de patiënt or de habituele dosering van een medicijn in professional writing. The term is understood across Dutch-speaking communities and is cognate with similar words in related languages.

See also: habitual, gewoonte, gebruikelijk.