situation
Americannoun
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situations
plural
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manner of being situated; location or position with reference to environment.
The situation of the house allowed for a beautiful view.
- Synonyms:
- site
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a place or locality.
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condition; case; plight.
He is in a desperate situation.
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the state of affairs; combination of circumstances.
The present international situation is dangerous.
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a position or post of employment; job.
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a state of affairs of special or critical significance in the course of a play, novel, etc.
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Sociology. the aggregate of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors acting on an individual or group to condition behavioral patterns.
noun
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physical placement, esp with regard to the surroundings
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state of affairs; combination of circumstances
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a complex or critical state of affairs in a novel, play, etc
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social or financial status, position, or circumstances
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a position of employment; post
Usage
Situation is often used in contexts in which it is redundant or imprecise. Typical examples are: the company is in a crisis situation or people in a job situation. In the first example, situation does not add to the meaning and should be omitted. In the second example, it would be clearer and more concise to substitute a phrase such as people at work
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of situation
First recorded in 1480–90, situation is from the Medieval Latin word situātiōn- (stem of situātiō ). See situate, -ion
Explanation
Situation is related to the verb "situate," which means to place. A building might be situated on the top of a hill — that's its position or situation. You've probably heard the term "sitcom," but may not realize it is short for "situation comedy," or a comedy where the humor is based on a set of quirky circumstances the characters find themselves placed in. A situation can also mean a set of circumstances that you find yourself placed in: holding both halves of a crazy aunt's broken vase could be a sticky situation — perfect for a situation comedy.
Vocabulary lists containing situation
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 4
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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:
But as Leslie’s situation grows increasingly complicated, Sarah’s emerging love story proves to be a bittersweet, ironic counterpoint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Iran has seized on the Suez crisis in recent days to draw comparisons with the current situation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
But this unusually early disruption of the polar vortex and SSW presents meteorologists with a situation for which there are few modern comparisons.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
An investing slowdown would upend this happy situation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
We didn’t have a real bathroom, an annoying situation my mom insisted on calling tradish.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
While those situations can be hard to deal with in the moment, they can also teach us a lot about the world of work.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
These different delivery methods illustrate how personalized phage therapy can be adapted to specific clinical situations rather than relying on a single treatment approach.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
Few Russians use the affected application, run by the ministry of emergency situations.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
This includes deliberate misuse by bad actors for cyberattacks, and also situations where humans lose control of advanced AI systems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Living with my mom, I saw how she used language to cross boundaries, handle situations, navigate the world.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
