verbreiteten

Verbreiten is a German verb meaning to spread, disseminate or propagate something from a source to others. It is used with direct objects such as information, news, rumors, ideas or diseases, as in “eine Nachricht verbreiten” or “Gerüchte verbreiten.” It can also be used intransitively or reflexively in the sense of becoming widespread, as in “sich verbreiten.”

The form verbreiteten is the Präteritum (imperfect) for the plural subjects wir and sie, meaning “we spread” or “they spread” in the past. The related present tense is verbreiten, and the past participle is verbreitet, used with haben in perfect tenses, e.g. “hat verbreitet.” The verb is built with the prefix ver- added to breiten (to spread), a common German formation that can imply spreading something outward or making it widely known.

Usage and nuance: verbreiten often carries a communicative or social dimension, such as disseminating information, news or opinions. In medical or scientific contexts, it can describe the spread of diseases or phenomena (die Verbreitung von Krankheiten). The phrase sich verbreiten emphasizes gradual or widespread propagation, as in “Die Nachricht verbreitete sich rasch.” Synonyms include ausbreiten and verteilen, while veredeln or verbreiten in different senses are used in related but distinct constructions.

In summary, verbreiteten is a key past-tense form of a common verb about spreading, with a broad range of applications from information to contagion, and verbreiteten serves as its Präteritum plural form.