begründen

== German == === Etymology === From Middle High German begründen (“to found, solidify”). Equivalent to be- +‎ gründen (“to establish, build”). The figurative meaning of reason comes from Grund. === Pronunciation === (standard German, northern and central) IPA(key): [bəˈɡʁʏn(d)n̩], [bəˈɡʁʏnd(ə)n] === Verb === begründen (weak, third-person singular present begründet, past tense begründete, past participle begründet, auxiliary haben) (transitive) to justify, to explain (to give a reason for a chosen course of action) [with mit (+ dative) ‘by doing something, with an argument’] Synonym: rechtfertigen to found, to lay the foundation for (a tradition, dynasty, field; with the focus on something that develops or exists through time from then on) ==== Usage notes ==== Generally, begründen has a neutral connotation and does not require the decision to have been challenged in any way. In contrast to this, rechtfertigen implies an adversarial interaction where the decision has been called into question. ==== Conjugation ==== ==== Synonyms ==== (establish): gründen (found): stiften (justify): rechtfertigen ==== Derived terms ==== Begründen Begründer Begründung begründend begründet === Further reading === “begründen”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[3] (in German) “begründen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon “begründen” in Duden online “begründen” in OpenThesaurus.de