condemn

verb

kuhn-DEM/kənˈdɛm/

12 meanings of condemn

1
verbtransitive
To express strong disapproval of someone or something; to denounce.
World governments condemned the invasion within hours.
Critics continue to condemn the policy as cruel and shortsighted.
Similardenounce, criticize, censure, deplore, decry
Oppositepraise, commend, applaud, endorse
Note
The everyday sense, and the mildest of the family. Latin condemnāre meant "to sentence" as well as "to blame". It was built on damnāre, "to harm, condemn", from damnum, "damage, loss". Moral blame and a court's verdict shared one word from the start, so public condemnation still sounds like a judgment handed down, not mere dislike. Its harshest relative is the sense of divine damnation.
2
verbtransitive
To pronounce someone guilty of an offense in a court of law.
The tribunal condemned the defendant on three counts of fraud.
Judges may condemn an accused person only after a fair trial.
Similarconvict
Oppositeacquit, exonerate, clear
3
verbfigurativelytransitive
To doom someone or something to a bad outcome or set of circumstances.
The long drought condemned thousands of farmers to ruin.
A single bad decision can condemn an entire mission to collapse.
Similardoom, consign, destine, sentence
Oppositesave, spare
Note
Circumstances take the judge's place. Poverty, drought or a bad decision passes the sentence, and the same to-phrase carries it, as in condemned to a life of poverty. The frame is borrowed whole from the courtroom sentence. Because of that, the sufferer can sound punished without having done anything wrong.
4
verbtransitive
To pronounce sentence on someone following a finding of guilt.
The judge condemned him to life imprisonment.
Courts once could condemn criminals to death for theft.
Similarsentence
Oppositereprieve, pardon
Note
Here the court moves from verdict to punishment, and the construction shows it: the penalty follows to, as in condemned to death or condemned to life in prison. Without that phrase, the verb points back to the guilty verdict alone. The passive is common, because the person sentenced is the natural subject of the story.
5
verbtransitive
To officially declare that something is unfit for use or further use.
Safety officials condemned the bridge after finding deep cracks.
Regulators may condemn equipment that no longer meets the required standards.
Note
An official finding that something has reached the end of its working life. This is the umbrella under which buildings, food and ships are all condemned. Modern Railways, in December 1962, reports 169 Western Region steam locomotives condemned at the end of the summer timetable and calls it a massive slaughter. Condemned stock is withdrawn from service, not merely criticized.
6
verbtransitive
To officially declare a building unfit for people to live in.
Inspectors condemned the tenement after the fire left it structurally unsound.
Authorities may condemn a building when its foundations become dangerous.
Note
A condemned house can mean two very different things. In this one the verdict is about safety. After a fire or similar damage, the building may no longer be lived in, so the occupants usually have to leave or the building comes down. Under the eminent-domain sense, a sound house can be condemned too, but then the owner loses it to public use.
7
verbtransitive
To officially declare that food or drink is unfit for people to eat or drink.
The inspector condemned an entire shipment of contaminated fish.
Regulators may condemn dairy products that test positive for harmful bacteria.
Similarreject
Oppositeapprove, pass
8
verbtransitive
To sentence someone to eternal punishment by divine judgment.
According to the doctrine, divine judgment condemns unrepentant sinners to everlasting torment.
The faithful trusted that a merciful God would not condemn the innocent.
Similardamn, doom
Oppositesave, redeem, absolve
9
verbtransitive
To officially designate private property for public use, taking it under the power of eminent domain.
The government condemned a strip of land along the river for flood control.
Authorities may condemn property to make way for a new railway.
Similarexpropriate, appropriate, seize, requisition
10
verbtransitive
To officially judge building or construction work as substandard, requiring it to be redone.
The surveyor condemned the foundation work as dangerously substandard.
Inspectors may condemn any construction that fails to meet code.
Similarreject, fail
Oppositeapprove, pass, accept
11
verbtransitive
To officially declare a ship or vessel unfit for service.
Inspectors condemned the freighter after discovering a cracked hull.
Maritime authorities may condemn a vessel that fails its seaworthiness survey.
Note
Maritime law uses the word in two ways, and this is the one about condition. A vessel found unseaworthy on survey is barred from service until it is repaired or broken up. Ownership does not change. That separates it from the prize-court sense, where a captured ship is condemned and passes to the government.
12
verbtransitive
To declare a captured vessel forfeited to the government or to be a lawful prize.
The admiralty court condemned the captured schooner as a lawful prize.
Authorities may condemn a vessel seized while running a blockade.
Similarconfiscate
Oppositerelease
Note
Prize law is the setting. When a ship was captured, a court had to rule that the capture was lawful before the captor could keep it, and that ruling condemned the ship. Title passes by the judgment itself. The vessel need not be damaged or unsafe in any way.

Practice

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Origin

This word came through Middle English condempnen and Old French condamner from Latin condemnāre ('to sentence, condemn, blame'), formed from com- plus damnāre ('to harm, condemn, damn'), which itself came from damnum ('damage, injury, loss'). It replaced the native Middle English word fordemen.