sluten

Sluten is a Swedish adjective that primarily means closed, sealed, or completed. It is the past participle form derived from the verb sluta, meaning to close or to end, and it is used to describe something that has been made closed or finished. In everyday language it can refer to physical states as well as more abstract conditions.

In usage, sluten appears in a variety of contexts. Technical terms include phrases such as sluten krets or sluten slinga, meaning a closed circuit or a closed loop. The word is also used in environmental or situational descriptions, for example sluten miljö to indicate a restricted or closed environment. In more figurative terms, it can describe processes or discussions that have been concluded or locked to further change.

In institutional and legal contexts, sluten has a more specialized sense. In Sweden, sluten vård refers to inpatient care, typically in a ward where patients are not free to leave. A related term, sluten psykiatrisk vård, designates compulsory psychiatric care under national law. These usages reflect a controlled, secure setting where access and movement are restricted for safety or legal reasons.

The word can appear in compound forms to convey limited access or privacy, such as sluten grupp (a closed group) or sluten bokning (a private booking). In contrast to open or public forms, sluten emphasizes exclusion from general access or ongoing openness.

Etymologically, sluten comes from the verb sluta and shares a conceptual link with related Germanic terms for closing. It remains a productive term in contemporary Swedish, spanning everyday language, technology, and formal care contexts.