verbreitet

Verbreitet is a German adjective meaning widely present or distributed. It describes something that exists over a large area, is common among many people, or is widely known. The form verbreitet also functions as the past participle of the verb verbreiten, meaning to disseminate or spread, and can be used in perfect or passive constructions.

The term is formed from the prefix ver- and the verb verbreiten, whose root breiten means to spread. The combination conveys dispersion or spread from a source.

Usage is versatile. As an adjective it modifies nouns: eine verbreitete Meinung, eine weit verbreitete Praxis, eine verbreitete Krankheit. It can refer to ideas, practices, diseases, or the distribution of a species, as in Die Pflanze ist in Europa verbreitet. As a past participle it appears in verb forms such as wurde verbreitet or ist weit verbreitet worden.

Grammar and style notes: When used attributively after a definite article, the adjective takes the ending -e in feminine singular: die verbreitete Idee; for plural: die verbreiteten Ideen. In predicative position it can be: Die Meinung ist weit verbreitet. The verb verbreiten is transitive; its passive or perfect forms use wurden or ist verbreitet worden.

See also: Verbreitung, Verbreitungsgrad.