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verb

verdauen

digest

Dieser Vorgang passiert im Körper, nachdem man etwas gegessen hat. Der Magen und der Darm zerkleinern die Nahrung, damit der Körper die Energie daraus nutzen kann.

Definition & meaning

  • Biological/Physiological: To digest food. This refers to the process where the body breaks down ingested nutrients into smaller components that can be absorbed and utilized by the organism.
  • Figurative: To process, cope with, or accept something mentally or emotionally. This is used when someone needs time to come to terms with a difficult experience, a shock, or a large amount of information (e.g., "to digest bad news").

Grammar & Word origin

  • Grammar: It is a weak, separable verb (though in modern usage, it is almost exclusively treated as a non-separable verb with the prefix ver-). It requires a direct object (accusative).
  • Word origin: It is composed of the prefix ver- (indicating a thorough, exhaustive, or sometimes destructive action) and the Middle High German döuwen, which means "to dissolve" or "to melt." It suggests the complete transformation of food through the metabolic process.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms:

  • verarbeiten (for figurative or physical processing)
  • verdauen is sometimes synonymous with aufnehmen in the sense of assimilation, or bewältigen when referring to emotional struggles.
  • verzehren (occasionally used in archaic contexts, though it primarily means to consume)

Antonyms:

  • erbrechen (to vomit, implying a failure to digest)
  • ignorieren (in a figurative sense, refusing to process or accept information)
  • verweigern (to refuse, as in the body rejecting food)

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Examples

Der Körper kann das Essen schnell verdauen.verb

The body can quickly digest the food.

Manchmal dauert es lange, das Essen zu verdauen.verb

Sometimes it takes a long time to digest the food.

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