grundsätzlich
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]grundsätzlich (strong nominative masculine singular grundsätzlicher, comparative grundsätzlicher, superlative am grundsätzlichsten)
- based on principle
- fundamental, elementary, principial
Declension
[edit]Positive forms of grundsätzlich
Comparative forms of grundsätzlich
Superlative forms of grundsätzlich
Derived terms
[edit]Adverb
[edit]grundsätzlich
- in principle, as a rule (but with exceptions)
- absolutely, categorically (without exception)
Usage notes
[edit]- The word is ambiguous, though the sense “in principle” is commoner. To some degree the distinction is one of intonation. For example, the phrase Das tue ich grundsätzlich nicht would be understood as “In principle, I don’t do that” when the words grundsätzlich and nicht are equally stressed, but as “I absolutely never do that” when there is strong stress on grundsätzlich.
Further reading
[edit]- “grundsätzlich” in Duden online
- “grundsätzlich” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache