condition Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a state at a particular time
    status.
    • a condition (or state) of disrepair
    • the current status of the arms negotiations
  2. noun an assumption on which rests the validity or effect of something else
    precondition; stipulation.
  3. noun a mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing
    • the human condition
  4. noun information that should be kept in mind when making a decision
    consideration; circumstance.
    • another consideration is the time it would take
  5. noun the state of (good) health (especially in the phrases `in condition' or `in shape' or `out of condition' or `out of shape')
    shape.
  6. noun an illness, disease, or other medical problem
    • a heart condition
    • a skin condition
  7. noun (usually plural) a statement of what is required as part of an agreement
    term.
    • the contract set out the conditions of the lease
    • the terms of the treaty were generous
  8. noun the procedure that is varied in order to estimate a variable's effect by comparison with a control condition
    experimental condition.
  9. verb establish a conditioned response
  10. verb develop (children's) behavior by instruction and practice; especially to teach self-control
    discipline; train; check.
    • Parents must discipline their children
    • Is this dog trained?
  11. verb specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement; make an express demand or provision in an agreement
    qualify; specify; stipulate.
    • The will stipulates that she can live in the house for the rest of her life
    • The contract stipulates the dates of the payments
  12. verb put into a better state
    • he conditions old cars
  13. verb apply conditioner to in order to make smooth and shiny
    • I condition my hair after washing it

WordNet

Con*di"tion noun
Etymology
F., fr. L. conditio (better condicio) agreement, compact, condition; con- + a root signifying to show, point out, akin to dicere to say, dicare to proclaim, dedicate. See Teach, Token.
Definitions
  1. Mode or state of being; state or situation with regard to external circumstances or influences, or to physical or mental integrity, health, strength, etc.; predicament; rank; position, estate.
    I am in my condition A prince, Miranda; I do think, a king. Shak.
    And O, what man's condition can be worse Than his whom plenty starves and blessings curse? Cowley.
    The new conditions of life. Darwin.
  2. Essential quality; property; attribute.
    It seemed to us a condition and property of divine powers and beings to be hidden and unseen to others. Bacon.
  3. Temperament; disposition; character. Obs.
    The condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil. Shak.
  4. That which must exist as the occasion or concomitant of something else; that which is requisite in order that something else should take effect; an essential qualification; stipulation; terms specified.
    I had as lief take her dowry with this condition, to be whipped at the high cross every morning. Shak.
    Many are apt to believe remission of sins, but they believe it without the condition of repentance. Jer. Taylor.
  5. (Law) A clause in a contract, or agreement, which has for its object to suspend, to defeat, or in some way to modify, the principal obligation; or, in case of a will, to suspend, revoke, or modify a devise or bequest. It is also the case of a future uncertain event, which may or may not happen, and on the occurrence or non-occurrence of which, the accomplishment, recission, or modification of an obligation or testamentary disposition is made to depend. Blount. Tomlins. Bouvier. Wharton. Syn. -- State; situation; circumstances; station; case; mode; plight; predicament; stipulation; qualification; requisite; article; provision; arrangement. See State.
Con*di"tion intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Conditioned ; present participle & verbal noun Conditioning
Definitions
  1. To make terms; to stipulate.
    Pay me back my credit, And I'll condition with ye. Beau. & Fl.
  2. (Metaph.) To impose upon an object those relations or conditions without which knowledge and thought are alleged to be impossible.
    To think of a thing is to condition. Sir W. Hamilton.
Con*di"tion transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. LL. conditionare. See Condition, n.
Definitions
  1. To invest with, or limit by, conditions; to burden or qualify by a condition; to impose or be imposed as the condition of.
    Seas, that daily gain upon the shore, Have ebb and flow conditioning their march. Tennyson.
  2. To contract; to stipulate; to agree.
    It was conditioned between Saturn and Titan, that Saturn should put to death all his male children. Sir W. Raleigh.
  3. (U. S. Colleges) To put under conditions; to require to pass a new examination or to make up a specified study, as a condition of remaining in one's class or in college; as, to condition a student who has failed in some branch of study.
  4. To test or assay, as silk (to ascertain the proportion of moisture it contains). McElrath. 5. train; acclimate.

Webster 1913