steigerte

Steigerte is a German verb form, namely the Präteritum (simple past) of the verb steigern, meaning to increase or intensify. The form is used for the first-person singular ich steigerte and the third-person singular er/sie/es steigerte. Steigern can be transitive, taking a direct object, as in Er steigerte die Temperatur, or intransitive in reflexive constructions, Die Spannung steigerte sich. The corresponding perfect tense is hat gesteigert, e.g., Die Preise haben sich gesteigert or Er hat die Lautstärke gesteigert.

Etymology: Steigern derives from steifen? and ultimately from steigen (to rise) with the productive suffix -ern, giving a sense of making something rise or increase. The Präteritum ending -te is typical of weak German verbs, and the stem remains steiger-, yielding forms like steigerte, steigerten, gesteigert in other tenses.

Usage: In narrative prose, steigerte describes a completed increment in quantity, degree, or intensity over time. It is common in reports, descriptions of change, and progress narratives. When used reflexively with sich, it expresses a rise that affects the subject itself: Die Spannung steigerte sich. Transitive uses emphasize increasing an object or measure, die Kosten steigerten sich, or der Aufwand steigerte sich.

Examples: Ich steigerte meine Anstrengungen im Training. Die Temperatur steigerte sich um fünf Grad. Die Spannung steigerte sich, bis der Moment kam.

See also: Steigen, Steiger, Steigerung, Steigerungsglied, Steigerer.