spannenden

spannenden is the inflected form of the German adjective spannend, meaning exciting or suspenseful. It is used to describe something that holds attention or creates tension, such as films, books, or stories. The form appears when the attributive adjective is declined for number, gender, and case and is preceded by a determiner that supplies that information. Examples include den spannenden Film (masculine singular, accusative), die spannenden Geschichten (plural, nominative or accusative), and mit den spannenden Projekten (plural, dative). With an indefinite article, you would encounter forms like einen spannenden Film (masculine, accusative) or ein spannendes Buch (neuter, nominative).

In predicative position, however, the adjective usually takes the standard form spannend, as in Der Film ist spannend, not spannenden. The form spannenden therefore primarily occurs in attributive use before a noun, where the determiner signals the grammatical category.

Etymologically, spannend derives from the verb spannen, meaning to tense or to stretch, with the extended sense of creating suspense or excitement. The noun form Spannung means tension or suspense and is closely related to the adjective’s meaning.

Common usage and related terms: spannend is used in journalism, critique, and everyday language to describe media, performances, or events that engage the audience. Near-synonyms include fesselnd and packend. The contrast with the nominalized Spannende or other inflected forms depends on whether the adjective stands before a noun (attributive) or functions predicatively after a verb.