condemn
Americanverb (used with object)
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condemns,
present (3rd person singular)
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condemned,
past participle, past
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condemning
present participle
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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
Synonym Usage
See blame.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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condemnationnoun
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condemnernoun
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condemnornoun
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recondemnverb (used with object)
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condemnableadjective
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self-condemningadjective
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uncondemnableadjective
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uncondemningadjective
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condemnablyadverb
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condemninglyadverb
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uncondemninglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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condemnsimple
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condemnssimple
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have condemnedperfect
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has condemnedperfect
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am condemningprogressive
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are condemningprogressive
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is condemningprogressive
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have been condemningperfect progressive
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has been condemningperfect progressive
Past
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condemnedsimple
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had condemnedperfect
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was condemningprogressive
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were condemningprogressive
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had been condemningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of condemn
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English condempnen, from Anglo-French, Old French condem(p)ner, from Latin condemnāre; see con-, damn
Explanation
You can condemn, or openly criticize, someone who is behaving inappropriately. If you are an animal rights activist, you would probably condemn someone for wearing fur. Condemn originally comes, through Old French, from the Latin word condemnāre, "to sentence, condemn." You may see politicians condemn each other in political ads during a campaign in hopes of improving their chances of winning an election. You also might hear of a convict being "condemned to death." In this sense of the word, to condemn still carries on its Latin meaning of "to sentence."
Vocabulary lists containing condemn
List 3
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The Silent Treatment: Words Plagued by Silent Letters
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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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.
See Examples For:
Olivia Holdt claims a hat-trick as Tottenham score seven times in the second half to condemn 10-player Crystal Palace to their first defeat since being promoted back to the Women's Super League.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
United States, to condemn the Tenure of Office Act and strike down a Reconstruction-era regulation of the presidency.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
“Andrew and Channel 5 strongly condemn memecoins and want nothing to do with them.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
But despite his loved ones’ flaws—and the burdens they heave on him—Waldrop refuses to condemn them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Having considered this matter very superficially, historians on the one hand admire these deeds of his, and on the other condemn the main cause of them.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
However, the Iranian embassy in London has said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" any "unfounded and malicious speculations" linking Iran to the latest incident.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Hamawy has said he condemns Abdel-Rahman’s violent rhetoric and actions and that he had no contact with the cleric after his arrest.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
Weeks before the elections, Meloni released videos in multiple languages saying the Italian right “unambiguously” condemns the fascist regime’s suppression of democracy and antisemitic policies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Grant has been a well-established critic of the Fed’s propensity to tolerate inflation for some time and in particular he condemns the purchasing power that has been lost since 2020, because of the Fed’s policies.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
It’s almost time to go “Also,” Minerva adds, “Padre Ignacio condemns fortunes only if you believe a human being knows what only God can know.”
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Bridget Phillipson, chair of the ruling Labour Party and Minister for Women and Equalities, also condemned the Green Party's conference decision.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Doctors, good doctors, are needed to help make sure that the process goes as smoothly as possible — and that the condemned person does not suffer needlessly.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Connie Alexander, the head of the Santa Barbara chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, condemned the incident in an opinion essay for the Independent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The paper notes that Tehran has "categorically" rejected and strongly condemned the "malicious speculations", but adds that the exact nature of what happened near Fairford "remains unclear".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
When I signed up for this internship, I hadn't given much thought to the fact that I would actually be meeting condemned prisoners.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Ronika’s resentment toward Blair, who has avoided condemning Haywood in public, seethes monotonously until her own backstory is finally unearthed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
El-Sayed’s campaign had already released a video condemning and memorializing 9/11 that morning.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
China’s Commerce Ministry backed the move, condemning the EU probe as an “unjustified suppression on Chinese enterprises.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
In her statement condemning Simon's death, Okey-Uche, Nigeria's consul general in Johannesburg, called for a "transparent" investigation and alleged that there was "an alarming pattern of unresolved extrajudicial killings/deaths and unacceptable misconduct against foreign nationals".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
I cried, reacting as if I were a convict and my mother a judge condemning me to death for a crime I didn’t commit.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
