häftig

See also: -haftig

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from German heftig.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhɛfˌtɪ(ɡ)/
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

häftig (comparative häftigare, superlative häftigast)

  1. (sudden and) forceful or intense (like a violent or intense release of energy); violent, intense, fierce, etc.
    en häftig kemisk reaktion
    a violent chemical reaction
    en häftig armrörelse
    a sudden, forceful arm movement
    en häftig strid utbröt
    a fierce battle broke out
    en häftig brand
    an intense fire
    en häftig debatt
    a fierce debate
    häftig gråt
    intense crying, wailing, etc.
    häftig sjögång
    heavy seas
    • 1861, Hagberg, translation of Shakespeare's Othello, II, 1. Iago speaking
      Han är häftig och har ett mycket oregerligt sinne; det kan nog hända, att han slår efter dig
      Sir, he is rash and very sudden in choler, and haply may strike at you
  2. easily angered (of a person or their temperament); volatile, hot-tempered, etc.
    hans häftiga humör
    his volatile temper
  4. (colloquial) cool
    en häftig sportbil
    a cool sports car
    en häftig upplevelse
    a cool experience
    en häftig film
    a cool movie

Usage notes

  • (sense 3) now dominates in the sense that häftig will be understood as cool as long as something might reasonably be described as cool, rather than as one of the other senses.
  • Often has a slightly more intense feel in (sense 3) compared to cool (which also appears in Swedish), though it's subtle. Bungee jumping is more likely to be described as a "häftig upplevelse (“experience”)" than a "cool upplevelse," for example.

Declension

Inflection of häftig
Indefinite positive comparative superlative1
common singular häftig häftigare häftigast
neuter singular häftigt häftigare häftigast
plural häftiga häftigare häftigast
masculine plural2 häftige häftigare häftigast
Definite positive comparative superlative
masculine singular3 häftige häftigare häftigaste
all häftiga häftigare häftigaste

1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
2 Dated or archaic.
3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

  • häftighet (“häftigness”)

See also

References

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