conditional

1 of 2

adjective

con·​di·​tion·​al kən-ˈdish-nəl How to pronounce conditional (audio)
-ˈdi-shə-nᵊl
1
: subject to, implying, or dependent upon a condition
a conditional promise
2
: expressing, containing, or implying a supposition
the conditional clause if he speaks
3
a
: true only for certain values of the variables or symbols involved
conditional equations
b
: stating the case when one or more random variables are fixed or one or more events are known
conditional frequency distribution
4
a
: conditioned sense 2
conditional reflex
conditional response
b
: established by conditioning as the stimulus eliciting a conditional response
conditionality noun
conditionally
kən-ˈdish-nə-lē How to pronounce conditional (audio)
-ˈdi-shə-nə-lē
adverb

conditional

2 of 2

noun

1
: a conditional word, clause, verb form, or morpheme
2

Examples of conditional in a Sentence

Adjective “If she speaks, you must listen” is a conditional sentence. The sentence contains the conditional clause “if she speaks.” Noun The clause “if she speaks” is a conditional. The conditional is often marked by the word “if.”
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The Common Council approved a conditional use permit for the wine shop Feb. 20 at the Plan Commission's recommendation. Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2024 Head to your county elections office, polling place or vote center to register and cast a conditional ballot. Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 1 Mar. 2024 The offering by Britain of conditional amnesties to ex-soldiers and militants involved in Northern Ireland’s decades of violence is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Belfast’s High Court ruled Wednesday. Reuters, NBC News, 28 Feb. 2024 Additionally, immunity is not extended to people on probation, parole and conditional release – a provision included in an amendment to keep support from law enforcement, but controversial for some lawmakers. Jenna Barackman, Kansas City Star, 23 Feb. 2024 Parents must also adjust seasonally to school schedules and to conditional situations like weather closing childcare facilities. Tracy Brower, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 The District Attorney’s Office opposed James’ petitions for conditional release in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2024 Adams has essentially stood pat this season in making just one trade in acquiring fourth-line forward Eric Robinson from Columbus for a conditional seventh-round pick. John Wawrow, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 Sacramento County restaurants cited for health violations The following Sacramento County restaurants had violations the week of Feb. 8 through Feb. 14, resulting in a conditional pass. Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 17 Feb. 2024
Noun
Each monthly box is filled with fun activities and projects that cover a variety of coding topics ranging from variables and loops to conditionals and functions. Brigitt Earley, Glamour, 5 Dec. 2023 The precise nature of the problem as described by NHTSA included numerous conditionals and caveats that indicate the risks are not necessarily grave. Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2023 It’s the conditional of the spatial that is at stake. Erik Morse, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2023 Jamey Dubose said on social media his conditional already was improving. Ben Thomas | Bthomas@al.com, al, 16 Oct. 2020 All this storytelling can give the agitated mind something to churn on, but obsessing over conditionals can also add to the moment-to-moment burden of preventing sickness and death, and tending to the sick and dying. Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 21 Apr. 2020 All of those conditionals, again, stem from the fact that these materials don't yet exist, at least not in quantity, and even 2030 might not be a long enough timeline to find and mass-produce them. Brian Barrett, WIRED, 11 Mar. 2018 Batuman writes; Nina’s reality remains untroubled by conditionals and subjunctives. Katy Waldman, Slate Magazine, 20 Mar. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'conditional.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of conditional was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near conditional

Cite this Entry

“Conditional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conditional. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

conditional

adjective
con·​di·​tion·​al
kən-ˈdish-nəl,
-ən-ᵊl
1
: depending on a condition
a conditional sale
2
: expressing, containing, or implying something supposed
"if we go" is a conditional clause
conditionally
-nə-lē
-ən-ᵊl-ē
adverb

Medical Definition

conditional

adjective
con·​di·​tion·​al kən-ˈdish-nəl, -ən-ᵊl How to pronounce conditional (audio)
1
a
: conditioned
conditional reflex
conditional response
b
: eliciting a conditional response
a conditional stimulus
2
: permitting survival only under special growth or environmental conditions
conditional lethal mutations
conditionally adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on conditional

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