to forfeit
Loading your saved state.
to forfeit
To lose a right, claim, or possession because of one's own misconduct, a criminal offense, or failure to comply with conditions. This is a term from formal and legal language.
Wer eine Straftat begeht, kann sein Recht auf die Ausübung bestimmter Berufe verwirken.
Anyone who commits a criminal offense can forfeit their right to practice certain professions.
'Verwirken' is an inseparable verb with the prefix 'ver-'. The prefix remains firmly attached to the stem 'wirken' in all tenses and sentence types and is not separated.
Er hat sein Recht auf eine Anhörung verwirkt.
He has forfeited his right to a hearing.
This word belongs to administrative and legal language. It is used very rarely in normal everyday speech. It is typically found in contracts, laws, or official notices.
Durch die Nichteinhaltung der Frist haben Sie Ihren Anspruch auf die Förderung verwirkt.
By failing to meet the deadline, you have forfeited your claim to the funding.
'Verwirken' (to forfeit) is almost always used with intangible things that one can lose. Typical objects are: 'ein Recht' (a right), 'einen Anspruch' (a claim), 'das Vertrauen' (trust), 'eine Chance' (an opportunity), or 'sein Ansehen verwirken' (to forfeit one's reputation).
Er riskierte, mit diesem Verhalten das Vertrauen seiner Wähler zu verwirken.
With this behavior, he risked forfeiting the trust of his voters.
to lose
'verlieren' and 'verwirken' can both mean that you no longer have a right, a claim, or a possession. 'verlieren' is the more general word and fits in many situations: you can lose a job, a right, or even consciousness. 'verwirken' is much more formal and is used mainly in legal or official contexts. It means that you lose something through your own misconduct or by breaking rules. Learners may confuse the words because in both cases something is gone. The important difference is: with 'verwirken', there is usually blame or a rule violation as the reason.
Der Fahrer hat seinen Anspruch auf Hilfe verwirkt, weil er falsche Angaben gemacht hat.
The driver forfeited his claim to assistance because he gave false information.
Nach dem Unfall hat er für einen kurzen Moment das Bewusstsein verloren.
After the accident, he lost consciousness for a brief moment.