Most uses of condition point to one of three things: how a car or house is holding up, a medical problem, or a requirement in an agreement. For the first, state or shape; for the second, ailment or disorder; for the third, stipulation or requirement. The verb splits too: to train a person or animal, or to make something a demand in a contract.
Best synonyms for condition
State or shape of something (noun)
- state
- shape
- status
- repair
A medical problem (noun)
- ailment
- disorder
- illness
- disease
- complaint
A requirement in an agreement (noun)
- requirement
- term
- stipulation
- prerequisite
- precondition
- provision
- proviso
A circumstance to weigh (noun)
- circumstance
- factor
- consideration
To train or accustom (verb)
- train
- accustom
- habituate
- discipline
To demand in an agreement (verb)
- stipulate
- specify
- provide
Which synonym should you use?
| If you mean… | Best alternatives |
|---|---|
| A used car's physical state | shape, state, repair |
| Where a refund or application stands | status, state |
| A long-running heart or skin problem | ailment, disorder, illness |
| Something needed before you can start | prerequisite, precondition, requirement |
| One limiting clause in an offer | proviso, stipulation |
| Facts that affect a decision | factor, consideration, circumstance |
| Teaching a dog a response | train |
| A contract that demands something | stipulate, specify, provide |
Condition synonyms explained
1. State
The broadest match for the first meaning: a bridge, a negotiation or a person's mind can all have a state. It is vaguer than shape, which hints at quality and nearly always comes with good or bad.
Best used when: Describing how something stands at one particular moment.
The inspector was alarmed by the state of the roof.
2. Shape
Informal, and usually part of a phrase such as in good shape or in bad shape. Unlike state, it also works for a person's fitness.
Best used when: Talking casually about how well a thing or a person is holding up.
The sailboat is in surprisingly good shape for its age.
3. Status
Points to where something stands in a process, not to its physical quality. It suits an order, an application or a negotiation; for a worn-out sofa, state is the word.
Best used when: Reporting progress on something that moves through stages.
You can check the status of your refund online.
4. Ailment
A mild or everyday health problem, less clinical than disorder. It fits a bad back or recurring stomach trouble, not something serious that has a formal diagnosis.
Best used when: Mentioning a minor, ongoing physical complaint in plain language.
Her grandfather blamed every ailment on the damp weather.
5. Disorder
A clinical term for a named category of malfunction, as in sleep disorder or thyroid disorder. It sounds more official than ailment and usually names a pattern, where illness can describe a single bout.
Best used when: Naming a diagnosed medical or psychological category.
He was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder.
6. Requirement
The plain, neutral choice for anything a rule or agreement demands. It is broader than stipulation, which is one explicit demand written into a deal, and says nothing about timing the way prerequisite does.
Best used when: Stating what someone must have or do to qualify.
Proof of insurance is a requirement for renting the van.
7. Prerequisite
Something that must be in place before something else can happen. It takes for or to (a prerequisite for the course) and differs from requirement by stressing that it comes first.
Best used when: Naming a course, skill or step that has to come before another.
Two years of experience is a prerequisite for the manager role.
8. Proviso
A single qualifying clause that limits an agreement, often introduced by with the proviso that. It is narrower and more formal than stipulation, and it always limits something already granted.
Best used when: Granting permission or accepting an offer with one catch attached.
She accepted the offer with the proviso that she could work remotely.
9. Stipulation
An explicit demand written into a contract, a will or a deal, usually insisted on by one party. It sounds firmer than requirement and is more tied to a document than proviso.
Best used when: Pointing to a specific demand someone set as part of a deal.
One stipulation of the sale was that the garden stay untouched.
10. Circumstance
Names the facts around an event or decision. It is usually plural and tied to under or in (under the circumstances), and it never means a demand the way condition sometimes does.
Best used when: Explaining why a decision made sense given the situation.
Under the circumstances, a full refund seemed fair.
11. Train
Teaches through repeated practice and needs an object: train a dog, train a team. It is closer to the psychological sense of condition than discipline, which stresses control and correction.
Best used when: Shaping an animal's or person's habitual response through drills.
The shelter trains rescue dogs to stay calm around crowds.
12. Accustom
Makes someone used to something, and it is most often passive: be accustomed to, followed by a noun or an -ing form. It is gentler than train and is about getting used to a situation, not learning a response.
Best used when: Describing gradual adjustment to a harsh or unusual situation.
Months at sea had accustomed him to very little sleep.
13. Stipulate
Where specify only spells out details such as dates or amounts, stipulate turns them into a demand the other side must meet. Its object is the demand itself, either a noun or a that clause, and the people bound by it go inside that clause.
Best used when: Describing what a contract, will or rule explicitly demands.
Correct: The lease stipulates that tenants pay in advance.
Incorrect: The lease stipulates tenants to pay in advance.
The tenants are the people bound by the demand, not the object of stipulate. Put them inside a that clause, as in the first sentence, or name the demand as a noun: The lease stipulates advance payment.
FAQ
Should a contract say condition or conditions?
Use the plural for the full set of terms (the conditions of the lease) and the singular for one demand (on one condition). Terms is the usual alternative for the whole set.
Can I use shape instead of condition in formal writing?
Not comfortably, because shape is informal. In a report or listing, in good condition is standard, and in good repair suits buildings and equipment.