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.
Bangladesh -- the world's fourth most populous Muslim-majority country -- is home to diverse strands of Islamic practice, including a significant Sufi community often condemned by hardline Islamists.
From Barron's
The Foreign Office said it had been "a long-standing priority under successive governments" to work for Abdel Fattah's release and see him reunited with his family in the UK, but condemned his posts as "abhorrent".
From BBC
Critics, however, condemn the practice as collective punishment that leaves families homeless.
From Barron's
Parliamentary elections in Myanmar that kicked off on Sunday have been widely condemned by international organizations, other Southeast Asian countries and most Western governments.
Bardot - or B.B. as she was known in France - campaigned against the annual seal cull in Canada, and irritated some of her countrymen by condemning the eating of horse meat.
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.
