conditioned

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past tense and past participle of condition.

   The coach conditioned the team with daily drills.

   The gel conditioned her hair and left it soft and shiny.

   Note

   A regular verb, so one spelling does double duty: she conditioned her hair (simple past) and her hair was conditioned (participle). The verb wants an object, whether a team, a head of hair or a person's habits. In the behavioral meaning the passive usually runs on with to and an infinitive, as in conditioned to obey or conditioned to expect praise. That use sits closest to the psychologist's adjective.

2. 2
   adjective

   Physically fit and in good shape, especially as a result of regular exercise.

   Marathon runners are remarkably conditioned, able to sustain effort for hours.

   The boxer arrived perfectly conditioned for the title fight.

   Similarfit, trained, toned, prepared

   Oppositeunfit, untrained, flabby

3. 3
   adjective

   Showing a learned, automatic response built up through repeated training, rather than an inborn reflex.

   Pavlov's dogs showed a conditioned response to the sound of a metronome.

   The rats became conditioned, flinching whenever the light flashed.

   Similarlearned, acquired, trained

   Oppositeunconditioned, innate, inborn, instinctive

   Note

   Psychology's term of art, always measured against its opposite: a conditioned reflex is learned, while an unconditioned one is inborn. The learning is associative. A neutral stimulus, paired repeatedly with one that already triggers a response, comes to trigger that response on its own. In technical writing the adjective sits directly before reflex or response. Said of a whole animal or person, it means the training has taken hold.

4. 4
   adjective

   Determined or dependent on some condition; valid or effective only when a particular requirement is met.

   Approval of the loan was conditioned on a strong credit history.

   Every clause in the treaty is conditioned by the others.

   Similarcontingent, conditional, dependent

   Oppositeunconditional, absolute, unqualified, independent

5. 5
   adjective

   Treated or prepared in advance so that it is ready for a particular use.

   The conditioned air kept the server room at a steady temperature.

   Conditioned malt is dried and ready for the brewing process.

   Similartreated, prepared, processed

   Oppositeuntreated, unprocessed, raw

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