konform

Konform is an adjective in German meaning in agreement with a standard, rule, or expectation. It describes something that complies with certain norms or requirements. The related nouns are Konformität (conformity) and Konformismus (conformism). In contrast to neutral usage, konform can carry a slightly evaluative tone when paired with Konformismus, implying uncritical or automatic adherence to prevailing norms.

Etymology and usage context: Konform originates from Latin conformis, via French and English into German, where it was adopted as a standalone adjective. In legal, technical, scientific, and organizational language, konform is common for describing compliance with standards, directives, or specifications. It is typically used with the preposition mit, as in konform mit den Vorschriften or konform mit den Normen. In some legal or regulatory contexts one may also encounter formulations such as konform zu den Anforderungen.

Common contexts: In industry and product regulation, a device or process may be described as konform, or it may be accompanied by a Konformitätserklärung (declaration of conformity). In social or cultural discourse, the term can denote alignment with social norms or expectations, where it may imply conformity to a group rather than independent judgment. The concept often appears in contrast to Begriffen wie Abweichung (deviation) or Nichtkonformität (nonconformity).

See also: Konformität, Konformismus, Norm, Standardisierung, Compliance, Abweichung.

Examples: Das Produkt ist konform mit der EU-Norm. Die Ergebnisse waren konform mit den Erwartungen. In der Gesellschaft wird oft über Konformismus und den Wert von individuellem Denken diskutiert.