säätelevä

Säätelevä is a Finnish adjective meaning regulating or regulatory. It describes something that has the function of setting rules, standards, or limits, i.e., something that governs or controls activities. The word is formed from the verb säätää (“to regulate, adjust”) with the present participle suffix -va, producing säätelevä. It is used to modify nouns directly, for example säätelevä viranomainen (regulatory authority) or säätelevä mekanismi (regulatory mechanism). It can also appear in compound terms within legal, political, or scientific discourse.

Usage and context: säätelevä typically refers to actors, processes, or instruments that impose rules, monitor compliance, or influence behavior. In legislation and policy discussions it often designates bodies or measures that establish or enforce standards. The term is common in formal Finnish writing and can appear in both descriptive and evaluative sentences.

Grammar notes: as an attributive adjective, säätelevä inflects like other Finnish adjectives and agrees with the noun in number and case (e.g., säätelevän, säätelevä, säätelevät). It is closely related to the noun forms sääntely (regulation) and säädös (regulation, provision), which express the regulatory concept from different angles. In some contexts, the loanword regulatiivinen may be used as a more technical synonym.

See also: sääntely, säädös, sääntö.