langvarigt

Langvarigt is the non-diacritic variant of the Swedish adjective långvarig, meaning lasting for a long time or persistent over an extended period. The word is used to describe the duration of processes, conditions or effects, and appears in medical, environmental, social and policy contexts as a way to express long-term character.

In Swedish, långvarig is an inflected adjective that changes with gender and number. The neuter singular form, langvarigt, is used with ett-noun phrases such as ett langvarigt problem or ett langvarigt regn. The common singular form is långvarig (en-noun), and the plural is långvariga. The form langvarigt is typically encountered when diacritics are omitted, for example in databases, older texts, or informal writing, while långvarig is the standard spelling in contemporary, fully diacriticized Swedish.

Usage and nuance emphasize duration rather than intensity. Langvariga or långvariga phenomena extend over time rather than being immediate or temporary. Examples include langvariga sjukdomar (long-term illnesses), langvariga konsekvenser (long-term consequences) and langvariga effekter av miljöpåverkan (long-lasting effects of environmental impact).

Related terms include kortvarig (short-term) and varaktig (durable, lasting). The concept aligns with similar compounds in other Scandinavian languages, such as Norwegian langvarig and Danish langvarig, which share the same core meaning of extended duration. In strict orthography, långvarig is preferred, with langvarigt appearing mainly as a diacritic-free variant.