Conditional

How to spell conditional

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce conditional

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does conditional mean?

1. adjectiveDepending on one or more conditions being met before something takes effect.
2. nounA clause or verb form expressing that one thing depends on another, often introduced by 'if'.

Conditional in a sentence

• adjective

  The job offer was conditional on passing a background check.

• noun

  The teacher explained how to form the conditional using 'would' and 'if'.

• adjective

  They accepted a conditional booking that could be cancelled without penalty.

• noun

  This exercise asks students to rewrite each sentence as a conditional.

Where does conditional come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin noun condicio, which meant an agreement, a stipulation, or the terms settled between parties. That noun grew from the verb condicere, 'to agree upon' or 'to arrange together', formed from con- ('together') and dicere ('to say' or 'to declare'), so the literal idea was of people talking terms into place. From condicio English took 'condition' for a requirement or circumstance, and by adding the adjective ending -al it built 'conditional' to describe anything that depends on such terms being met. The word arrived through Old French in the late 1300s and settled quickly into both everyday and legal use. Knowing the buried dicere root, the same element seen in 'dictate' and 'verdict', is a handy reminder that the middle is spelled 'dit', not 'dish', even though the voice softens it to a 'sh' sound.

How the word is built

• con- (together, with)
• dit (from Latin dicere, to say or agree)
• -ion (noun-forming)
• -al (adjective-forming)