schlimmsten

Schlimmsten is the intensifying inflected form of the German adjective schlimm, meaning "bad" or "serious." It expresses the highest degree of negativity and is not a stand-alone lexical item; it is a grammatical ending used in various constructions.

Usage and forms:

- Attributive before a plural noun with a definite determiner: die schlimmsten Fehler, die schlimmsten Folgen. In these cases the ending -sten marks the superlative for plural nouns.

- Dative plural after an article: in den schlimmsten Fällen (in the worst cases). This shows how the form changes with case and number.

- Predicative or adverbial forms are different: am schlimmsten means "the worst" in an adverbial sense, as in am schlimmsten gelitten (suffered the most).

Nominalization and related terms:

- Das Schlimmste: when the adjective is used as a noun (capitalized), referring to the worst thing or the most terrible event.

- Die Schlimmsten: plural nominal use, referring to the worst things or people in a given context.

Etymology and grammar:

- Schlimmsten derives from the adjective schlimm. The suffix -sten is the standard German superlative ending used in attributive adjectives before plural nouns or in other inflected forms.

- The form contrasts with das schlimmste, which is the neuter singular (also used as das Schlimmste when nominalized) and with am schlimmsten for adverbs.

See also: schlimm (the base adjective), das Schlimmste (nominalized form), am schlimmsten (adverbial superlative).