condition

American  

[kuhn-dish-uhn] / kənˈdɪʃ ən /

noun

1. a particular mode of being of a person or thing; existing state; situation with respect to circumstances.

2. state of health.

   He was reported to be in critical condition.

3. fit or requisite state.

   to be out of condition;

   to be in no condition to run.

4. social position.

   in a lowly condition.

5. a restricting, limiting, or modifying circumstance.

   It can happen only under certain conditions.

6. a circumstance indispensable to some result; prerequisite; that on which something else is contingent.

   conditions of acceptance.

7. Usually conditions. existing circumstances.

   poor living conditions.

8. something demanded as an essential part of an agreement; provision; stipulation.

   He accepted on one condition.

   Synonyms:

   proviso, requirement

9. Law.

   1. a stipulation in an agreement or instrument transferring property that provides for a change consequent on the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a stated event.

   2. the event upon which this stipulation depends.

10. Informal. an abnormal or diseased state of part of the body.

    heart condition;

    skin condition.

11. U.S. Education.

    1. a requirement imposed on a college student who fails to reach the prescribed standard in a course at the end of the regular period of instruction, permitting credit to be established by later performance.

    2. the course or subject to which the requirement is attached.

12. Grammar. protasis.

13. Logic. the antecedent of a conditional proposition.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put in a fit or proper state.

2. to accustom or inure.

   to condition oneself to the cold.

3. to air-condition.

4. to form or be a condition of; determine, limit, or restrict as a condition.

5. to subject to particular conditions or circumstances.

   Her studies conditioned her for her job.

6. U.S. Education. to impose a condition on (a student).

7. to test (a commodity) to ascertain its condition.

8. to make (something) a condition; stipulate.

9. Psychology. to establish a conditioned response in (a subject).

10. Textiles.

    1. to test (fibers or fabrics) for the presence of moisture or other foreign matter.

    2. to replace moisture lost from (fibers or fabrics) in manipulation or manufacture.

verb (used without object)

1. to make conditions.

idioms

1. on / upon condition that, with the promise or provision that; provided that; if.

   She accepted the position on condition that there would be opportunity for advancement.

condition British  

/ kənˈdɪʃən /

noun

1. a particular state of being or existence; situation with respect to circumstances

   the human condition

2. something that limits or restricts something else; a qualification

   you may enter only under certain conditions

3. (plural) external or existing circumstances

   conditions were right for a takeover

4. state of health or physical fitness, esp good health (esp in the phrases in condition, out of condition )

5. an ailment or physical disability

   a heart condition

6. something indispensable to the existence of something else

   your happiness is a condition of mine

7. something required as part of an agreement or pact; terms

   the conditions of the lease are set out

8. law

   1. a declaration or provision in a will, contract, etc, that makes some right or liability contingent upon the happening of some event

   2. the event itself

9. logic a statement whose truth is either required for the truth of a given statement (a necessary condition ) or sufficient to guarantee the truth of the given statement (a sufficient condition ) See sufficient necessary

10. maths logic a presupposition, esp a restriction on the domain of quantification, indispensable to the proof of a theorem and stated as part of it

11. statistics short for experimental condition

12. rank, status, or position in life

13. (conjunction) provided that

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verb

1. psychol

   1. to alter the response of (a person or animal) to a particular stimulus or situation

   2. to establish a conditioned response in (a person or animal)

2. to put into a fit condition or state

3. to improve the condition of (one's hair) by use of special cosmetics

4. to accustom or inure

5. to subject to a condition

6. archaic (intr) to make conditions

condition More Idioms  

1. see in condition; mint condition; on condition that; out of condition.

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Related Words

See state.

Other Word Forms

• conditionable adjective
• uncondition verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of condition

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English condicioun, from Old French, from Latin condiciōn-, stem of condiciō “agreement,” equivalent to con- con- + dic-, stem of dīcere “to say” + -iō -ion

Explanation

A medical problem or illness can be referred to as a condition. Your skin condition isn't contagious, but it still looks bad — scabby and scaly. You won't even need makeup to dress as a zombie for Halloween. A condition is also a requirement or prerequisite for something. As a condition of your acceptance to college, you may have to maintain certain grades and do well on a standardized test. Condition can refer as well to the state or quality of something. The condition of your apartment building might be so appalling that your mail carrier has stopped delivering your mail.

Example Sentences

The first is that nobody should call our food system “broken,” the all-purpose label that armchair revolutionaries slap on any aspect of the messy human condition that doesn’t measure up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Don’t believe the Dodgers’ public shrugs about the recent dead-arm condition of Edwin Díaz.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

But she experienced a relapse of a neuroimmune condition shortly before joining the company last August, prompting her to work remotely from her home in Southern California.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The whale is thought to have become entangled in netting before eventually becoming stranded on a sandbank, while suffering from a skin condition brought on by the lower salt levels of the Baltic Sea.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Briefly, she wondered if she ought to reveal the details of her employer’s moonstruck condition to Miss Mortimer, but decided it was more of a medical matter and therefore ought to be kept private.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• action
• case
• plight
• position
• quality
• situation
• status