unconditioned

[ uhn-kuhn-dish-uhnd ]

adjective

1. not subject to conditions; absolute.
2. Psychology. not proceeding from or dependent on a conditioning of the individual; natural; innate: Compare conditioned ( def 3 ).

   unconditioned behavior.

unconditioned

/ ˌʌnkənˈdɪʃənd /

adjective

1. psychol characterizing an innate reflex and the stimulus and response that form parts of it Compare conditioned
2. metaphysics unrestricted by conditions; infinite; absolute
3. without limitations; unconditional

Derived Forms

• ˌunconˈditionedness, noun

Other Words From

• uncon·ditioned·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unconditioned¹

First recorded in 1625–35; un- ¹ + conditioned

Example Sentences

She fumed that “pathological hypocrisy has long been a political tradition of Western liberalism and its unconditioned reflex.”

From Seattle Times

Assuming you’re clear in your own mind that your response to the situation is unconditioned by race, you can, in good conscience, try to figure out how to get them to stop imposing on you.

From New York Times

The letter demanded a large number of revisions, particularly ”making these new sanctions permissive instead of framed as mandates” and giving the administration “unconditioned waiver authority” over the sanctions.

From Salon

And they reply to injustice and repression not by resistance or retaliation, but with an utterly new, unconditioned response that leaves the reader lightheaded, transcending even that which we value as “freedom.”

From New York Times

“The voice is silence … it is a voice that is unconditioned, like a horse standing still.”

From The Guardian