stärksten

Stärksten is the superlative form of the German adjective stark, meaning the strongest. It is used to indicate that something or someone is the most strong within a defined group, typically in plural phrases or after a definite determiner.

In attributive position with a definite article or other determiner, the plural form die stärksten … is common. For example, Die stärksten Athleten erreichten das Finale. Zu den stärksten Gegnern des Teams gehört er. The form stems from the stem märkten by adding the superlative ending -sten to the umlauted stem stärk‑ from stark.

Stärksten also appears in the dative and genitive plural forms after appropriate determiners, such as zu den stärksten Gegnern or der stärksten Gruppe, depending on case. In the singular, the corresponding forms are stärkster (masc nom), stärkste/ stärkste (fem nom), and so on, but these are separate from the plural stärksten.

The adverbial counterpart is am stärksten, used when comparing across a broader scope rather than naming a specific group: Sie ist am stärksten von allen. The adjective’s umlaut in the stem (a→ä) reflects the standard German Vowel alternation in the comparative and superlative forms (stark, stärker, stärksten).

Etymologically, stark is descended from the Old High German stark, with the umlaut and the regular German superlative suffix -sten forming modern stärksten. In contemporary usage, stärksten is common in journalistic, formal, and descriptive prose when contrasting multiple items or persons within a defined set.