condemn
Americanverb (used with object)
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to express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on; indicate strong disapproval of; censure.
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to pronounce to be guilty; sentence to punishment.
to condemn a murderer to life imprisonment.
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to give grounds or reason for convicting or censuring.
His acts condemn him.
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to judge or pronounce to be unfit for use or service.
to condemn an old building.
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U.S. Law. to acquire ownership of for a public purpose, under the right of eminent domain.
The city condemned the property.
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to force into a specific state or activity.
His lack of education condemned him to a life of menial jobs.
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to doom to eternal punishment in hell.
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to declare incurable.
verb
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to express strong disapproval of; censure
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to pronounce judicial sentence on
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to demonstrate the guilt of
his secretive behaviour condemned him
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to judge or pronounce unfit for use
that food has been condemned
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to compel or force into a particular state or activity
his disposition condemned him to boredom
Related Words
See blame.
Other Word Forms
- condemnable adjective
- condemnably adverb
- condemnation noun
- condemner noun
- condemningly adverb
- condemnor noun
- recondemn verb (used with object)
- self-condemning adjective
- uncondemnable adjective
- uncondemning adjective
- uncondemningly adverb
Etymology
Origin of condemn
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English condempnen, from Anglo-French, Old French condem(p)ner, from Latin condemnāre; con-, damn
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The 70-year-old US-born pope has so far shown diplomatic caution and has not directly condemned his home country's role in the turbulent Middle East region.
From Barron's
“I lived in one of those houses that were condemned for the Santa Monica freeway,” he recalled of his last year of college.
In France - one of a number of countries where genetic testing is illegal without a medical prescription due to privacy laws - the government has condemned the decision as "a step backwards".
From BBC
Leo XIV, the first US-born pope, has repeatedly condemned the war and called for dialogue.
From Barron's
French President Emmanuel Macron likewise condemned the move and said it came in the context of "the worrying increase in violations of the status of the Holy Places in Jerusalem".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
