uupuvat

Uupuvat is a Finnish verb form that denotes exhaustion. It is the third-person plural present indicative form of the verb uupua, meaning to become exhausted or to be drained. In everyday language, uupuvat describes people, groups, or systems that are experiencing fatigue, depletion, or diminished capacity as a result of stress, workload, illness, or scarcity. The form can be used literally to describe physical or mental tiredness, or metaphorically to indicate resource depletion, such as a community that uupuvat from lack of funds. The related noun uupuminen refers to the state of exhaustion, while uupunut is the corresponding adjective meaning exhausted.

Etymology and grammar: The verb uupua belongs to Finnish, with the present plural suffix -vat marking the third-person plural in the present tense. The stem uupu- forms the core meaning “to become exhausted,” and the -vat ending brings the form into present-tense agreement with a plural subject.

Usage notes: Examples include “Ihmiset uupuvat” (People are exhausted) and “Ihmiset uupuvat pitkän projektin jälkeen” (People become exhausted after a long project). The expression can be extended with adverbials or prepositional phrases to indicate cause or extent, such as “krooninen stressi uuttaa ihmiset uupumaan” (chronic stress causes people to become exhausted). In journalism and literature, uupuvat is used to convey collective fatigue in communities or institutions.

See also: uupua, uupuminen, uupunut, fatigue and exhaustion terminology in Finnish.

Note: As a lexical item, uupuvat functions primarily as a finite verb form and is not typically used as a standalone noun; the state of exhaustion is more commonly expressed with uupuminen.