conditioning

[ kuh n-dish-uh-ning ]

/ kənˈdɪʃ ə nɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR conditioning ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Psychology.

Also called operant conditioning, instrumental conditioning. a process of changing behavior by rewarding or punishing a subject each time an action is performed until the subject associates the action with pleasure or distress.

Also called classical conditioning, Pavlovian conditioning, respondent conditioning. a process in which a stimulus that was previously neutral, as the sound of a bell, comes to evoke a particular response, as salivation, by being repeatedly paired with another stimulus that normally evokes the response, as the taste of food.

Nearby words

conditioned, conditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned suppression, conditioner, conditioning, condo, condole, condolence, condolent, condom

Origin of conditioning

First recorded in 1915–20; condition + -ing¹

Related forms

self-con·di·tion·ing, adjective

Definition for conditioning (2 of 2)

condition

[ kuh n-dish-uh n ]

/ kənˈdɪʃ ən /

noun

a particular mode of being of a person or thing; existing state; situation with respect to circumstances.

state of health: He was reported to be in critical condition.

fit or requisite state: to be out of condition; to be in no condition to run.

social position: in a lowly condition.

a restricting, limiting, or modifying circumstance: It can happen only under certain conditions.

a circumstance indispensable to some result; prerequisite; that on which something else is contingent: conditions of acceptance.

Usually conditions. existing circumstances: poor living conditions.

something demanded as an essential part of an agreement; provision; stipulation: He accepted on one condition.

Law.

a stipulation in an agreement or instrument transferring property that provides for a change consequent on the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a stated event.
the event upon which this stipulation depends.

Informal. an abnormal or diseased state of part of the body: heart condition; skin condition.

U.S. Education.

a requirement imposed on a college student who fails to reach the prescribed standard in a course at the end of the regular period of instruction, permitting credit to be established by later performance.
the course or subject to which the requirement is attached.

Grammar. protasis.

Logic. the antecedent of a conditional proposition.

verb (used with object)

to put in a fit or proper state.

to accustom or inure: to condition oneself to the cold.

to air-condition.

to form or be a condition of; determine, limit, or restrict as a condition.

to subject to particular conditions or circumstances: Her studies conditioned her for her job.

U.S. Education. to impose a condition on (a student).

to test (a commodity) to ascertain its condition.

to make (something) a condition; stipulate.

Psychology. to establish a conditioned response in (a subject).

Textiles.

to test (fibers or fabrics) for the presence of moisture or other foreign matter.
to replace moisture lost from (fibers or fabrics) in manipulation or manufacture.

verb (used without object)

to make conditions.

Origin of condition

1275–1325; Middle English condicioun < Anglo-French; Old French < Latin condiciōn- (stem of condiciō) agreement, equivalent to con- con- + dic- say (see dictate) + -iōn- -ion; spelling with t by influence of Late Latin or Medieval Latin forms; compare French condition

SYNONYMS FOR condition

1 See state.

8 requirement, proviso.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR condition ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

con·di·tion·a·ble, adjectiveun·con·di·tion, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for conditioning

I had to throw out all of my American conditioning toward the workplace.
The Airbnb of Home-Cooked Meals|Itay Hod|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Conditioning the Fed to react less to periodic market tantrums will take a strong will.
Janet Yellen Succeeds in the Senate Without Really Trying|Daniel Gross|November 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
After eight seasons of conditioning, the precision-timed “shocks” have lost a great deal of potency.
‘Dexter’ Season 8: The Serial-Killer Drama Still Has a Few Twists Left|Jason Lynch|June 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Rational beings assume Netanyahu will win: all the pollsters have been conditioning this response for months.
What Went Wrong For Netanyahu|Bernard Avishai|January 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2010, 24 (9), 2274-2279.
15 Shocking Exercise Facts|Anneli Rufus|August 20, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Here again we have an illustration of might conditioning right.
The American Indian as Slaveholder and Seccessionist|Annie Heloise Abel
It has to do with conditioning the human being for the exigencies of life in peace or in war.
College Teaching|Paul Klapper
He wanted to watch the weapons-check and the conditioning; he found Thornberry waiting for him.
Take the Reason Prisoner|John Joseph McGuire
I simply underwent a course of training in vaudeville, conditioning myself for a fight to a finish.
Nat Goodwin's Book|Nat C. Goodwin
His conditioning was broken now he was convinced that Copper was a member of the human race.
The Lani People|J. F. Bone

British Dictionary definitions for conditioning (1 of 2)

conditioning

/ (kənˈdɪʃənɪŋ) /

noun

psychol the learning process by which the behaviour of an organism becomes dependent on an event occurring in its environmentSee also classical conditioning, instrumental learning

adjective

(of a shampoo, cosmetic, etc) intended to improve the condition of somethinga conditioning rinse

British Dictionary definitions for conditioning (2 of 2)

condition

/ (kənˈdɪʃən) /

noun

a particular state of being or existence; situation with respect to circumstancesthe human condition

something that limits or restricts something else; a qualificationyou may enter only under certain conditions

(plural) external or existing circumstancesconditions were right for a takeover

state of health or physical fitness, esp good health (esp in the phrases in condition, out of condition)

an ailment or physical disabilitya heart condition

something indispensable to the existence of something elseyour happiness is a condition of mine

something required as part of an agreement or pact; termsthe conditions of the lease are set out

law

a declaration or provision in a will, contract, etc, that makes some right or liability contingent upon the happening of some event
the event itself

logic a statement whose truth is either required for the truth of a given statement (a necessary condition) or sufficient to guarantee the truth of the given statement (a sufficient condition)See sufficient (def. 2), necessary (def. 3e)

maths logic a presupposition, esp a restriction on the domain of quantification, indispensable to the proof of a theorem and stated as part of it

statistics short for experimental condition

rank, status, or position in life

on condition that or upon condition that (conjunction) provided that

verb (mainly tr)

psychol

to alter the response of (a person or animal) to a particular stimulus or situation
to establish a conditioned response in (a person or animal)

to put into a fit condition or state

to improve the condition of (one's hair) by use of special cosmetics

to accustom or inure

to subject to a condition

(intr) archaic to make conditions

Word Origin for condition

C14: from Latin conditiō, from condīcere to discuss, agree together, from con- together + dīcere to say

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

Medicine definitions for conditioning (1 of 2)

conditioning

[ kən-dĭsh′ə-nĭng ]

n.

A process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to associate a desired behavior with a previously unrelated stimulus.

Medicine definitions for conditioning (2 of 2)

condition

[ kən-dĭsh′ən ]

n.

A disease or physical ailment.

A state of health or physical fitness.

v.

To cause an organism to respond in a specific manner to a conditioned stimulus in the absence of an unconditioned stimulus.

Science definitions for conditioning

conditioning

[ kən-dĭsh′ə-nĭng ]

See classical conditioning.

Idioms and Phrases with conditioning

condition

see in condition; mint condition; on condition that; out of condition.