Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

conditional

[kuh n-dish-uh-nl]
See more synonyms for conditional on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. imposing, containing, subject to, or depending on a condition or conditions; not absolute; made or allowed on certain terms: conditional acceptance.
  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.Compare absolute(def 12).
Show More
noun
  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.
Show More

Origin of conditional

1350–1400; Middle English condicionel < Anglo-French, Middle French < Late Latin condiciōnālis, equivalent to condiciōn- (stem of condiciō) condition + -ālis -al1
Related formscon·di·tion·al·i·ty, nouncon·di·tion·al·ly, adverbnon·con·di·tion·al, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for conditional on Thesaurus.com
1. dependent, contingent, relative.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for conditionally

Historical Examples

  • I understood Mahomed grudgingly granted them a half-soul, and that only conditionally.

    The Prodigal Returns

    Lilian Staveley

  • Besides the promise was made only conditionally, as was that made to Eli.

  • He flung back sombrely, "You don't even put it conditionally then?"

    The Touchstone

    Edith Wharton

  • Mrs. Dudley, Im willing to be as generous as you can expect, conditionally.

  • Give me absolution, he said: at least conditionally, in case what I say should be true.

    Old and New Paris, v. 1

    Henry Sutherland Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for conditionally

conditional

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 "
    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
Show More
noun
  1. grammar
    1. a conditional form of a verb
    2. a conditional clause or sentence
  2. logic a conditional proposition
Show More
Derived Formsconditionality, nounconditionally, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for conditionally

conditional

adj.

late 14c., condicionel, from Old French condicionel (Modern French conditionnel), from Latin conditionalis, from condicionem (see condition (n.)). Related: Conditionally.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper