das Geschehen, –

1) As a noun: das Geschehen

Meaning (English):

• what is happening; events; the course of events; proceedings
  It refers to an unfolding situation or the totality of events in a place/time, often in a neutral, report-like tone.

Examples of typical use (English sense):

• das politische Geschehen = political events / the political situation as it unfolds
• das Geschehen am Unfallort = what happened at the scene of the accident

Word parts:

• Derived from the verb geschehen (“to happen/occur”). It’s not commonly split into independent modern parts; historically it relates to “happen/come about”.

German synonyms:

• Ereignisse, Vorgänge, Abläufe, Entwicklungen, Geschehnisse (often: “incidents/occurrences”)

German antonyms (depending on context):

• No fixed single antonym. Possible opposites by meaning: Stillstand (standstill), Ruhe (calm/quiet)

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2) As a verb: geschehen

Meaning (English):

• to happen; to occur; to come about
  Often used for events that occur without specifying an agent (something happens rather than someone does it).

Typical forms:

• es geschieht = it happens
• es ist geschehen = it has happened / it happened
• (past: geschah, participle: geschehen)
  Note: The verb is irregular.

Common fixed phrase:

• Was ist geschehen? = What happened?

German synonyms:

• passieren, sich ereignen, stattfinden (more like “take place”), vorkommen (depending on context)

German antonyms (context-dependent):

• Not very fixed; possible opposites: ausbleiben (not happen / fail to occur), verhindert werden (be prevented)

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Related word: Geschehnis (noun)

• das Geschehnis = an occurrence/incident (often a single event)
  Plural: Geschehnisse.