Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Condemned as for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "condemned-as" — phrase (verb), pronounced /kənˈdemd əz/, with the stress on "demned".
Narrator: To be condemned as something is to be publicly and formally judged to be that thing, almost always something bad, such as unsafe, unlawful or morally wrong.
Narrator: In plain English, someone with authority or a loud public voice declares openly that a person, a building or an idea belongs in the category of the unacceptable.
Narrator: It joins the verb condemn, which came into English from Old French condemner and ultimately from the Latin condemnare, meaning to sentence or to blame fully, with the little linking word as, which supplies the label.
Narrator: A very common collocation is condemned as unsafe, which describes a building or a piece of equipment officially declared unfit for use and closed off.
Narrator: It differs from criticised as, because criticism merely finds fault and invites debate, whereas being condemned as something carries the weight of a verdict and usually a consequence.
Narrator: Figuratively, we also hear condemned as outdated, used when a method, a policy or a piece of software is declared no longer fit for the modern world.
Narrator: Law, journalism, building surveying, politics and product safety all lean on this phrase, and so do software teams when they retire a system.
Narrator: So remember: condemned as means publicly declared to be something bad, with authority behind the label and consequences close behind.
Speaker A: Why does condemned as always sound so much heavier than simply calling something bad?
Speaker B: Because CONDEMNED carries a courtroom in its bones, coming from the Latin condemnare, to sentence completely, so the phrase still sounds like a judge bringing down a gavel.
Speaker A: So the word as is doing the labelling work, is that right?
Speaker B: Exactly right, the as attaches the verdict to the thing, telling us precisely which category of wrongness has been pinned on it.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "The old pier was condemned as unsafe after the winter storms," meaning inspectors officially banned its use. "Her remarks were condemned as reckless by the committee," meaning they were publicly denounced. "The legacy database was condemned as obsolete in the audit," meaning it was formally declared unfit to continue.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Do not write condemmed with two m sounds in the spelling, and remember that condemn ends in a silent n; also avoid condemned to when you mean condemned as, since condemned to introduces a punishment, not a label.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Denounced as is the fiery cousin, declared unfit is the practical twin, and branded as is the blunt everyday alternative, though condemned as keeps its solemn courtroom charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "condemned-as" in AI prompts — useful for writing technical audit reports and for drafting deprecation notices in software documentation.
Speaker A: How would that apply to a code audit?
Speaker B: Ask the model to report findings with the weight of a verdict.
Prompt: Write a short code audit summary in which three legacy modules are condemned as insecure, giving one concrete reason and one replacement suggestion for each.
Speaker A: And for release documentation?
Speaker B: Have it draft a formal notice for users of an old feature.
Prompt: Draft a deprecation notice explaining that the version one API has been condemned as unsupported, and outline a three step migration path for existing customers.
Speaker A: Could it help a product team handle criticism?
Speaker B: Yes, ask for a measured public reply.
Prompt: Write a calm public statement responding to reviewers who have condemned as intrusive our new analytics tracking, acknowledging the concern and describing the changes we will make.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Let's use it for infrastructure planning.
Prompt: Produce a one page risk register in which our on premise backup server is condemned as unreliable, listing the evidence, the business impact and the recommended cloud alternative.
Condemned as — meaning in Arabic & definition More C courses GL Dictionary