verlassen

See also: Verlassen

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fərˈlasən/, /fɛr-/, [fɐˈlasn̩], [fɛɐ̯-], [-sən]
  • Hyphenation: ver‧las‧sen
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio:(file)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German verlāzen, Old High German firlāzan, from Proto-West Germanic *fralātan, from Proto-Germanic *fralētaną. Cognate with Dutch verlaten, archaic and/or dialectal English forlet, and Middle Low German vorlaten. Equivalent to ver- (for-) +‎ lassen (let, leave).

Verb

verlassen (class 7 strong, third-person singular present verlässt, past tense verließ, past participle verlassen, auxiliary haben)

  1. (transitive) to leave, to abandon; to depart, to forsake
    Die Ratten verlassen das sinkende Schiff.
    The rats are abandoning the sinking ship.
    Er verließ das Haus um 7 Uhr.
    He left the house at 7 o'clock.
    1. to leave, to desert, to dump (e.g. a partner in a romantic relationship)
      Nach dreijähriger Beziehung verließ sie ihn.
      After three years of an affectionate relationship, she left him.
    2. (figuratively) to pass away; to cease; to die (with direct object uns)
      Es tut mir leid, aber deine Mutter hat uns gestern Nacht verlassen.
      I am sorry, but your mother passed away last night.
    3. (rare) to exit or close a computer program or app
      Synonym: schließen
  2. (reflexive) to trust; to rely on [with auf (+ accusative) ‘someone/something’]
    Ich verlasse mich darauf, dass du morgen da bist.
    I rely on your being there tomorrow.
    Ich habe mich auf dich verlassen!
    I've put my trust in you!
Usage notes
Conjugation
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Participle

verlassen

  1. past participle of verlassen

Adjective

verlassen (strong nominative masculine singular verlassener, comparative verlassener, superlative am verlassensten)

  1. lonely, forsaken
  2. (not comparable) abandoned, deserted
Declension
Derived terms

Adverb

verlassen

  1. forlornly
    Synonym: verloren

See also

Further reading