Condemn

How to spell condemn

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce condemn

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does condemn mean?

1. verbTo express complete and public disapproval of something, usually on moral grounds.
2. verbTo pronounce a legal judgement against someone, sentencing them to a punishment.
3. verbTo officially declare a building or structure unsafe and unfit for use.

Condemn in a sentence

• World leaders were quick to condemn the attack on the hospital.

• The court could condemn him to life in prison if he is found guilty.

• Inspectors plan to condemn the old factory after finding structural cracks.

• The report did not condemn the company outright, but it raised serious concerns.

• Few modern juries would condemn a defendant to death.

• The council may condemn the flats unless the landlord fixes the wiring.

Where does condemn come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin condemnare, meaning 'to sentence' or 'to blame', formed from the intensifying prefix con- and the verb damnare, which literally meant 'to inflict harm or loss on someone' and gave us 'damn' as well. In Roman use it carried a strongly legal flavour: to condemnare was to pronounce someone guilty and impose a penalty. English took it in during the 1300s through Old French condempner, and the older French and Latin spellings sometimes even carried a 'p' that English eventually dropped. The silent final 'n', which is the great spelling trap, is a leftover from the Latin -mn cluster of damnare, and you can hear that buried 'n' resurface in the related word 'condemnation'. Remembering that condemn and damn are cousins, both ending in a silent letter, helps fix the unexpected ending.

How the word is built

• con- (intensive, thoroughly)
• demn (from Latin damnare: to harm, to inflict loss on)