conditional
nounEtymology From French conditionnel, from Old French condicionel, equivalent to condition + -al.
1
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A conditional sentence; a statement that depends on a condition being true or false.
2
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The conditional mood.
3
Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences A statement that one sentence is true if another is.
- "A implies B" is a conditional.
- Disjunctives may be turned into conditionals1867, Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater, Manual of Elementary Logic, quoted in OED:
4
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences An instruction that branches depending on the truth of a condition at that point.
- if and while are conditionals in some programming languages.
5
A condition (a limitation or restriction).
- The former is called the law, which hath his promises, conditionals, and comminations or threats, accordingly; the other is called the gospel, or rather the free promises hanging not on conditions on our behalf, but simply on God's verity and mercy, although they require conditions, but not as hanging thereon; of which promises the gospel may well be called a publication.1832, John Bradford, Memoirs of the Life and Martyrdom of John Bradford, page 69:
- GOD grant us to be clean beasts, to cleave the hoofs accordingly, that is, to give the old man meat, meet for the owers, that is, the law with his appurtenances, conditionals, promises, and comminations; and to give to the new man the gospel and sweet free promises, as appertaineth; and then doubtless we shall walk in the right high-way unto eternal life, that is, in Christ Jesus, the end of the law and the fulfilling of the promises, in whome they be yea and Amen.1837, The Letters of the Martyrs: Collected and Published in 1564, page 363:
3 more examples
- For mine own part, I confess I do not in any measure think it needful to insist upon the conditionals of these assertions of the Holy Ghost, as to the removal of any or all the oppositions that from them, of old or of late, have been raised and framed against the doctrine of the saints' perseverance, there being in neither of the texts insisted on either name or thing inquired after, nor any one of all the severals inquired into, and constantly in the Scriptures used, in the description of the saints and believers of whom we speak.1853, John Owen, edited by Rev. William H. Goold, The Works of John Owen, D. D., page 640:
- There were so many ways to answer, yet each potential response seemed out of context, inadequate. The problem with context—and any conditionals I might apply in my answer—was the high risk that Jim and Margot dismiss it all as “hedging,” as positioning myself to win the engagement.2009, Dennis J. Roberts, Mergers & Acquisitions:
- Sanders questions this move under a model that assumes comprehensive divine foreknowledge because there aren't any conditionals; the outcome is certain: “How can a conditional promise be genuine if God already foreknows the human response and so foreknows that he will, in fact, never fulfill the promise?"2018, John D. Laing, Middle Knowledge: Human Freedom in Divine Sovereignty:
- Synonyms
- if-then statement, material conditional
- Derived terms
- counterfactual conditional, first conditional, horseshoe conditional, indicative conditional, mixed conditional, Philonian conditional, present conditional, relevance conditional, second conditional, strict conditional, third conditional, zero conditional
- Meronyms
- antecedent, consequent