Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Conditionally for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Conditionally" — adverb, pronounced /kənˈdɪʃənəli/, with the stress on "di".
Narrator: It means in a way that depends on one or more conditions being met, rather than absolutely or permanently.
Narrator: In plain English, something happens only if something else is true first.
Narrator: It comes from the Latin condicio, meaning an agreement or stipulation, which gave English condition, then conditional, and finally the adverb conditionally.
Narrator: A common collocation is "conditionally approved", which describes a decision granted only while certain requirements continue to hold.
Narrator: It differs from provisionally, because provisionally suggests a temporary arrangement awaiting confirmation, while conditionally points to specific rules that must be satisfied.
Narrator: In computing we also say a module loads conditionally, meaning the code runs only when a particular flag or environment allows it.
Narrator: Law, banking, medicine, university admissions and software engineering all rely on this word daily.
Narrator: So remember: conditionally means yes, but only if the conditions hold.
Speaker A: Why does "conditionally" turn up in so many official letters?
Speaker B: Because it is wonderfully precise! CONDITIONALLY comes from the Latin condicio, a stipulation or bargain, so it has always carried the sense of a promise with strings attached.
Speaker A: So it always implies there is a catch somewhere?
Speaker B: Exactly so, and a well-written sentence will tell you precisely what that catch is.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "She was conditionally offered a place at university," meaning the offer depends on her exam results. "The loan was conditionally approved," meaning the bank still wants proof of income. "The feature is conditionally enabled for beta users," meaning only that group sees it.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Do not write conditionaly with one l, and do not confuse it with unconditionally, which means the exact opposite. It modifies verbs, so say approved conditionally, not a conditionally approval.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Provisionally is the cautious cousin, contingently is the near twin, and tentatively is the softer alternative, though conditionally keeps its precise, contractual charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "conditionally" in AI prompts — useful for feature flag systems and automated approval workflows.
Speaker A: How would that apply to a front-end build?
Speaker B: Ask the model to gate an interface element.
Prompt: Write a React component that conditionally renders the admin dashboard only when the user role is administrator.
Speaker A: And for back-end approvals?
Speaker B: Let the prompt describe a rules-based decision.
Prompt: Design an API endpoint that conditionally approves a loan application when the credit score and income thresholds are both satisfied.
Speaker A: What about deployment pipelines?
Speaker B: Here the word controls when a job actually runs.
Prompt: Create a continuous integration configuration that conditionally deploys to production only when all tests pass on the main branch.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Let's finish with data processing.
Prompt: Write a Python function that conditionally transforms each record in a dataset when the timestamp falls within the reporting period.
Conditionally — meaning in Arabic & definition More C courses GL Dictionary