heikentyä

Heikentyä is a Finnish intransitive verb meaning to become weaker, to deteriorate, or to decline in strength, condition, or quality. It describes processes where a state or feature loses vitality or effectiveness, and it can be applied to physical condition, health, performance, or to non-living phenomena such as weather, economy, or infrastructure.

The verb is intransitive, and its opposite in practical use is the transitive heikentää, meaning to weaken something. Common constructions involve a subject that undergoes change, for example: "kunto heikkenee" (one’s condition weakens), "tilanne heikkenee" (the situation deteriorates), or "sää heikkeni" (the weather worsened). It often appears with time expressions or adverbs to indicate gradual or rapid change.

The typical noun form for the process is heikkeneminen, referring to weakening or deterioration, and the past participle heikentynyt can be used to describe something that has already become weaker. In news or scientific writing, the term may be used alongside related concepts such as health decline, economic slowdown, or environmental degradation to convey a shift toward a less favorable state.

See also: heikentää, heikkeneminen, heikentynyt, heikentyminen. These related terms cover the act of weakening (transitive), the process of weakening, and the resulting state. Heikentyä is a standard, neutral term in Finnish for describing decline or deterioration in a wide range of contexts.