lelassul

Le lassul is a Hungarian verb meaning to slow down or decelerate. It describes a change of speed from a higher to a lower rate and is used for physical motion as well as for processes or systems. The action is typically intransitive: the subject experiences the slowing rather than causing someone or something else to slow.

Etymology and form: The word is built from the root lassul (to slow down) with the prefix le-, which in Hungarian often marks a change toward a lower state or completion of an action. Le lassul belongs to a class of prefixed verbs that convey deceleration or reduction in speed. It is used similarly to other Hungarian verbs with prefixes, and its forms follow standard conjugation patterns for such verbs. Common usage can be illustrated by simple sentences in the present or past tense.

Usage and nuance: Le lassul emphasizes the transition to a slower state and is widely applicable to vehicles, machinery, and dynamic processes, as well as metaphorically to events or situations that slow down. It contrasts with lassul, which simply denotes a slowing in a more general sense, and with felgyorsul, which means to accelerate or speed up.

Examples: A motor lelassul. The engine slows down. Az autó lelassul a kanyar előtt. The car slows down before the turn. A gazdaság lelassul. The economy slows down.

See also: lassulás (slowing down), felgyorsul (to accelerate), deceleration.