prísnym

Prísnym is the instrumental singular masculine form of the adjective prísny, meaning strict, severe, or exacting. It is used in Slovak and Czech to describe nouns in the instrumental case, often after verbs of being or acting, or to express the manner of an action. In non-diacritic texts, Slovak renders the form as prísnym; the corresponding Czech form is přísným.

In Slovak usage, prísnym typically accompanies masculine singular nouns in the instrumental to indicate someone or something is acting in a strict way or serves in a strict role. Examples include: bol prísnym učiteľom (he was a strict teacher) and jednal prísnym spôsobom (he acted in a strict manner). In Czech, the same sense is expressed with přísným, as in byl přísným učitelem or jednal přísným způsobem. The instrumental form is a common way to express manner, role, or manner of conduct across both languages.

Form and variations: prísnym is one form within a full inflectional set for prísny. The base form is prísny (masculine), with feminine prísna and neuter prísne. The adverbial counterpart is prísne (strictly). The diacritic variants reflect the respective orthographies of Slovak and Czech: Slovak uses prísnym, while Czech uses přísným.

Etymology and related terms: prísny derives from a Slavic root meaning strict or severe and has cognates across related languages. Related adjectives include prísny, and related adverbs include prísne; common synonyms and near-synonyms include tvrdý and striktní in Czech.