CONDITIONAL


Meaning of CONDITIONAL in English

— conditionality , n. — conditionally , adv.

/keuhn dish"euh nl/ , adj.

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

2. Gram. (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.

a. (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.

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

4. Math. (of an inequality) true for only certain values of the variable, as x + 3 > 0 is only true for real numbers greater than -3. Cf. absolute (def. 12).

n.

5. Gram.

a. (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."

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

[ 1350-1400; ME condicionel condicionalis, equiv. to condicion- (s. of condicio ) CONDITION + -alis -AL 1 ]

Syn. 1. dependent, contingent, relative.

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .