schwarzmalen

German

Alternative forms

  • schwarz malen (superseded)

Etymology

schwarz +‎ malen, literally to plaint black

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʃvaʁt͡sˌmaːlən/
  • Audio (Germany):(file)
  • Hyphenation: schwarz‧ma‧len

Verb

schwarzmalen (weak, third-person singular present malt schwarz, past tense malte schwarz, past participle schwarzgemalt, auxiliary haben) (chiefly intransitive)

  1. to paint a bleak picture, to catastrophize (express an unusually high degree of pessimism regarding the outcome of something)
    Synonyms: schwarzsehen, unken
    • 2018 April 27, Eric Bonse, “Transatlantische Handelsbeziehungen: Streit um US-Strafzölle”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz[1], →ISSN:
      Ursprünglich war erwartet worden, dass Merkel versuchen wird, Trump umzustimmen. Deshalb ist man in Brüssel auch überrascht, dass die Kanzlerin schon jetzt schwarzmalt.
      Originally, the expectation had been that Merkel would try to change Trump's mind. That's why people in Brussels are just as surprised that the chancellor is already catastrophizing.

Usage notes

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading