Schwebezustand
The German word for abeyance is Schwebezustand.
Schwebezustand refers to a state of suspension or a temporary suppression. It is frequently used in technical, scientific or formal contexts to describe a situation where something is neither fully active nor fully inactive.
Meaning: suspension, temporary suppression (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of Schweben, meaning to float or hover and Zustand, meaning state or condition.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of Schwebezustand is Schwebezustände.
Did you know?
- The word Zustand can be used as a colloquial exclamation Was für ein Zustand! to describe a messy room or a chaotic situation.
- The word schweben is used to describe the feeling of being in love, which Germans call im siebten Himmel schweben or 'floating in the seventh heaven'.
- While Schwebezustand implies a temporary pause, the related word Schwebe is also used in physics to describe the 'beat' frequency between two similar acoustic tones.
Examples in context
- Wir müssen das Projekt vorübergehend aussetzen.We need to temporarily suspend the project.
- Die Entscheidung befindet sich in einem Schwebezustand.The decision is in a state of abeyance.
- Das Projekt verharrt momentan in einem Schwebezustand.The project is currently in a state of suspension.
- Ohne neue Informationen bleibt alles in einem Schwebezustand.Without new information, everything remains in abeyance.
Example conversation
Two colleagues discuss a delayed decision at the office.
- LauraHat der Chef die Entscheidung schon getroffen, Maximilian?Has the boss made the decision yet, Maximilian?
- MaximilianNein, alles ist momentan noch in einem Schwebezustand.No, everything is still in a state of abeyance at the moment.
- LauraDas ist wirklich sehr ärgerlich für uns.That is really very annoying for us.
- MaximilianIch hoffe, dass wir bald Klarheit haben.I hope that we will have clarity soon.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry Schwebezustand, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
