verzogen

Definition & meaning

verzogen is most commonly the past participle of verziehen and is also used as an adjective. Depending on context, it has several meanings:

1. “pulled/warped out of shape; bent; distorted”
   Used for materials or objects that are no longer straight or true (e.g., wood, metal, paper).

• Das Holz ist verzogen. = The wood has warped.

2. “spoiled; pampered; badly brought up” (about a child/person)
   Describes someone who has been raised with too much indulgence and therefore behaves in a demanding or unpleasant way.

• Ein verzogenes Kind. = A spoiled child.

3. “moved away; relocated” (esp. in the perfect tense: ist verzogen)
   Used when someone has moved away from a place of residence.

• Er ist nach Berlin verzogen. = He moved away to Berlin.

4. (of the face) “pulled into a grimace; contorted”

• ein verzogenes Gesicht = a contorted face (e.g., from pain or disgust)

Grammar & Word origin

• Form: verzogen = past participle (Partizip II) of verziehen.
• Verb type: strong verb (e.g., verziehen – verzog – verzogen).
• Adjectival use: can be declined like an adjective: ein verzogenes Kind, die verzogene Tür, das verzogene Brett.
• Word parts: ver- (a prefix that often changes/redirects the base meaning) + ziehen (“to pull/draw”).
  Many meanings relate back to the idea of “pulling away/off line”: warping, pulling a face, moving away.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms (depending on meaning):

• (warped) verformt↗, verbogen↗, gekrümmt↗
• (spoiled) verwöhnt[?](vocabuo://word/verw%C3%B6hnt], verdorben↗ (in the sense of “spoiled” as a person/child)
• (moved away) umgezogen↗, weggezogen↗
• (contorted face) verzogen often overlaps with verkrampft↗, verzerrt↗

Antonyms (depending on meaning):

• (not warped) gerade↗, unverzogen↗
• (not spoiled) wohlerzogen↗, gut erzogen↗
• (not moved away) geblieben↗