verzetteln
German, verb
verzetteln is spelled V-E-R-Z-E-T-T-E-L-N (10 letters) and appears about once in every 5 million words in written German, the 107,140th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Verzetteln is a German verb meaning “to get caught up in the minutiae of, or pursue an inexpedient approach to, a task, problem, or affair” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Verzetteln is a different word: “gerund of verzetteln”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “sich nicht auf die wichtigen Aspekte konzentrieren; sich zu sehr mit Nebensächlichem beschäftigen”.
What does verzetteln mean in English?
verb
- 1
colloquialto get caught up in the minutiae of, or pursue an inexpedient approach to, a task, problem, or affair
- 2
colloquialto fritter, squander, waste, wanton (to expend haphazardly)
- 3
Switzerlandto spread, scatter (hay, straw) for drying
noun
- 1
neutergerund of verzetteln
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. sich nicht auf die wichtigen Aspekte konzentrieren; sich zu sehr mit Nebensächlichem beschäftigen 2. etwas unnütz oder planlos vergeuden 3. ausbreiten oder ausstreuen, um etwas zu trocknen, zum Beispiel Heu oder Stroh
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of verzetteln
- verzettelt present singular third-person
- verzettelte past
- haben auxiliary
- verzettelnd participle present
- verzettle first-person indicative present
- verzettele first-person indicative present
- verzettel first-person indicative present
- verzettelst indicative present second-person
- verzettelest second-person singular subjunctive
- verzettlest second-person singular subjunctive
- verzettelet plural second-person subjunctive
- verzettlet plural second-person subjunctive
- verzettelten first-person indicative plural
- verzetteltest indicative preterite second-person
- verzetteltet indicative plural preterite
- verzettel! imperative singular
- verzettele! imperative singular
- verzettelt! imperative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How common is verzetteln in German?
verzetteln appears about once in every 5 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).