unbegrenzten

Unbegrenzten is the inflected form of the German adjective unbegrenzt, meaning unlimited or boundless. It appears before plural nouns in certain grammatical cases and is not used as a noun by itself in standard German; when turning the concept into a noun, related forms such as Unbegrenztheit or Unendlichkeit are used.

Etymology and meaning: The word derives from the negating prefix un- attached to begrenzen, “to limit.” The sense is “not limited” or “without defined boundaries.” The form unbegrenzten corresponds to German adjective declension rules and occurs in contexts where a plural noun is described and the determiner triggers the -en ending.

Usage and examples: In everyday and technical language, unbegrenzt commonly describes quantities, spaces, or possibilities that have no finite limit. Examples include unbegrenzte Möglichkeiten (limitless possibilities) and die unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten (the limitless possibilities). In a sentence with a preposition that requires the dative plural, one often encounters mit unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten (with unlimited possibilities). The exact ending depends on case and determiner, but unbegrenzten is typical for plural forms in several cases.

In science and philosophy: The term is used to characterize concepts, ranges, or capacities that are not bounded by a finite value, such as unbegrenzte Rechenleistung or unbegrenzte Ausdehnung in abstract discussions of space, time, or computation.

See also: Begrenzung, Unbegrenztheit, Unendlichkeit, Unbegrenztes.