sinngemäßen

Sinngemäßen is the declined attributive form of the German adjective sinngemäß, which means that something is true to the meaning or substance of a source rather than a literal quotation. The word combines Sinn (sense, meaning) and gemäß (according to, in accordance with). It is commonly used to indicate paraphrase, approximate rendering, or interpretation that preserves the intended meaning.

Usage and function

Sinngemäß is used to flag that wording has been summarized or paraphrased without claiming verbatim accuracy. It appears in legal, academic, and journalistic writing, where precise quotation is not required but the intended sense must be conveyed. The form sinngemäßen appears when the adjective is declined to agree with a plural noun or with certain cases and determiners, for example: die sinngemäßen Aussagen, den sinngemäßen Inhalt, mit sinngemäßen Mitteln. Other common forms include sinngemäße Wiedergabe (paraphrased rendering) or sinngemäß wiedergegeben (paraphrased/adequately reproduced).

Contexts and nuances

In legal texts, sinngemäß often accompanies statements or interpretations to indicate alignment with the intended meaning of the law or testimony, rather than an exact quotation. In scholarly writing, it signals that a paraphrase preserves the source’s core argument or findings. The term is not a synonym for exact quotes; rather, it admits some variation in wording while preserving the sense.

Translations

English equivalents include "in substance," "in the sense of," or "to that effect." The choice among these depends on the specific context and whether a paraphrase or an interpretation is being described.

Overall, sinngemäß and its declined form sinngemäßen are standard tools for signaling paraphrase or interpretation that remains faithful to the original meaning.