conditional

American  

[kuhn-dish-uh-nl] / kənˈdɪʃ ə nl /

adjective

1. imposing, containing, subject to, or depending on a condition or conditions; not absolute; made or allowed on certain terms.

   conditional acceptance.

   Synonyms:

   relative, contingent, dependent

2. Grammar. (of a sentence, clause, mood, or word) involving or expressing a condition, as the first clause in the sentence If it rains, he won't go.

3. Logic.

   1. (of a proposition) asserting that the existence or occurrence of one thing or event depends on the existence or occurrence of another thing or event; hypothetical.

   2. (of a syllogism) containing at least one conditional proposition as a premise.

4. Mathematics. (of an inequality) true for only certain values of the variable, as x + 3 > 0 is only true for real numbers greater than −3.

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noun

• conditionals
  plural

1. Grammar.

   1. (in some languages) a mood, tense, or other category used in expressing conditions, often corresponding to an English verb phrase beginning with would, as Spanish comería “he would eat.”

   2. a sentence, clause, or word expressing a condition.

conditional British  

/ kənˈdɪʃənəl /

adjective

1. depending on other factors; not certain

2. grammar (of a clause, conjunction, form of a verb, or whole sentence) expressing a condition on which something else is contingent: " If he comes " is a conditional clause in the sentence " If he comes I shall go "

3. 1. (of an equation or inequality) true for only certain values of the variable: x ² –1 = x + 1 is a conditional equation, only true for x = 2 or –1

   2. (of an infinite series) divergent when the absolute values of the terms are considered

4. Also: hypothetical.  logic (of a proposition) consisting of two component propositions associated by the words if…then so that the proposition is false only when the antecedent is true and the consequent false. Usually written: p → q or p ⊃ q, where p is the antecedent, q the consequent, and → or ⊃ symbolizes implies

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noun

1. grammar

   1. a conditional form of a verb

   2. a conditional clause or sentence

2. logic a conditional proposition

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• conditionality
  noun
• nonconditional
  adjective
• conditionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• conditionals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conditional

1350–1400; Middle English condicionel < Anglo-French, Middle French < Late Latin condiciōnālis, equivalent to condiciōn- (stem of condiciō ) condition + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

Something conditional is dependent on other factors. You might receive a conditional offer of acceptance from a college, depending on your high school graduation and your maintaining passing grades. For a clue to the meaning of conditional, look at an opposing term: unconditional surrender, which means someone surrenders and doesn't ask for anything in return. In a conditional surrender, someone will give up only if certain things happen. A conditional agreement is dependent on other factors: a company could make a conditional hire, meaning they'll hire you only if you finish your degree and take a blood test. When you see the word conditional, think "It depends."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conditional conditionals

However, Juventus are understood to be confident of winning the race for his signature on a loan deal that includes a conditional obligation to buy.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Curiosity has a way of making obedience conditional.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Louisiana Economic Development said it offered SpaceX a conditional “competitive incentives package” that requires the company to create jobs, invest capital and donate $25 million to a local charity.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

For starters, the OCC issued preliminary conditional approvals for stablecoin banking services to five of our competitors nine months before granting conditional approval to our company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Many mundane mistakes in reasoning can be traced to a shaky grasp of the notion of conditional probability.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

"They also can repair damage to their DNA caused by radiation and other extreme conditionals or chemicals."

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2024

In the courtroom his lawyer read out a carefully written, complicated text, full of caveats, conditionals and the passive voice.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2023

All conditionals include two components—that which follows the “if” and that which follows the “then.”

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

“What Slavic 101 couldn’t name didn’t exist,” Batuman writes; Nina’s reality remains untroubled by conditionals and subjunctives.

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2017

There is one more piece to the puzzle of how to write classy conditionals.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• limited
• provisional
• restrictive
• tentative