CONDEMN

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does condemn mean? 

• CONDEMN (verb)
  The verb CONDEMN has 6 senses:

1. express strong disapproval of

2. declare or judge unfit for use or habitation

3. compel or force into a particular state or activity

4. demonstrate the guilt of (someone)

5. pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law

6. appropriate (property) for public use

  Familiarity information: CONDEMN used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONDEMN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they condemn    ... he / she / it condemns   
Past simple: condemned   
Past participle: condemned   
-ing form: condemning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Express strong disapproval of

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

condemn; decry; excoriate; objurgate; reprobate

Context example:

These ideas were reprobated

Hypernyms (to "condemn" is one way to...):

denounce (speak out against)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

condemnation (an expression of strong disapproval; pronouncing as wrong or morally culpable)

condemnation (the condition of being strongly disapproved of)

condemnatory (containing or imposing condemnation or censure)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Declare or judge unfit for use or habitation

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

The building was condemned by the inspector

Hypernyms (to "condemn" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

"Condemn" entails doing...:

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "condemn"):

boo; hiss (show displeasure, as after a performance or speech)

explode (drive from the stage by noisy disapproval)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

condemnation ((law) the act of condemning (as land forfeited for public use) or judging to be unfit for use (as a food product or an unsafe building))

condemnation (the condition of being strongly disapproved of)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Compel or force into a particular state or activity

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

His devotion to his sick wife condemned him to a lonely existence

Hypernyms (to "condemn" is one way to...):

compel; obligate; oblige (force somebody to do something)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sense 4

Meaning:

Demonstrate the guilt of (someone)

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

Her strange behavior condemned her

Hypernyms (to "condemn" is one way to...):

attest; certify; demonstrate; evidence; manifest (provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "condemn"):

attaint (condemn by attainder)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

condemnation (an expression of strong disapproval; pronouncing as wrong or morally culpable)

condemnation (the condition of being strongly disapproved of)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

condemn; doom; sentence

Context example:

He was condemned to ten years in prison

Hypernyms (to "condemn" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

"Condemn" entails doing...:

convict (find or declare guilty)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "condemn"):

foredoom (doom beforehand)

reprobate (abandon to eternal damnation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They want to condemn the prisoners

Derivation:

condemnation (an expression of strong disapproval; pronouncing as wrong or morally culpable)

condemnation (the condition of being strongly disapproved of)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Appropriate (property) for public use

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

the county condemned the land to build a highway

Hypernyms (to "condemn" is one way to...):

attach; confiscate; impound; seize; sequester (take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

But even if I were condemned to suffer on the scaffold for the same crimes, I would not change places with such a wretch.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

"No, I won't!" returned Jo stoutly, feeling much relieved that her prank was not entirely condemned.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It may be that we are condemned to spend our whole lives in this strange, inaccessible place.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“Miss Dartle,” I returned, “you are surely not so unjust as to condemn ME!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But Beppo was condemned to a year’s imprisonment, and in the meanwhile his six busts were scattered over London.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was on a par with all the rest that Brissenden had condemned in bourgeois society.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

They delivered him up to justice, and he and all his murderous band were condemned to death for their wicked deeds.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I will keep your confession, and if McCarthy is condemned I shall be forced to use it.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I did not condemn him precipitately.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)