Situation Definition

Contents

• 1 English
  • 1.1 Etymology
  • 1.2 Pronunciation
  • 1.3 Noun
    • 1.3.1 Synonyms
    • 1.3.2 Related terms
    • 1.3.3 Translations
    • 1.3.4 See also
    • 1.3.5 References
  • 1.4 Anagrams
• 2 French
  • 2.1 Pronunciation
  • 2.2 Noun
• 3 Swedish
  • 3.1 Pronunciation
  • 3.2 Noun
    • 3.2.1 Declension
    • 3.2.2 Related terms
    • 3.2.3 Synonyms

English

Etymology

From French situation < Medieval Latin situatio (“position, situation”) < situare (“to locate, place”) < Latin situs (“a site”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: sĭt-jo͞o-ā'shən, IPA: /sɪtjuːˈeɪʃən/, SAMPA: /sItju:"eIS@n/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

situation (plural situations)

1. The way in which something is positioned vis-à-vis its surroundings.
   • 1908: Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

     ...he being naturally an underground animal by birth and breeding, the situation of Badger's house exactly suited him and made him feel at home; while the Rat, who slept every night in a bedroom the windows of which opened on a breezy river, naturally felt the atmosphere still and oppressive.

2. The place in which something is situated; a location.
   • 1833: Thomas Hibbert and Robert Buist, The American Flower Garden Directory, p. 142

     [Hibíscus] speciòsus is the most splendid, and deserves a situation in every garden.

3. Position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances.
4. The combination of circumstances at a given moment; a state of affairs.
5. (UK) A position of employment; a post.
   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, Penguin 2006, p. 78:

     When he was nineteen, he suddenly left the 'Co-op' office, and got a situation in Nottingham.

6. (informal, euphemistic) A difficult or unpleasant set of circumstances; a problem.
   • Boss, we've got a situation here. . .

Synonyms

• (combination of circumstances): condition, set up

Related terms

• site
• situate
• situated
• situationism

See also

• situation comedy, sitcom

References

• Source for the definitions:
  • Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. [1] (accessed: March 10, 2007).
• situation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• situation in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• situation at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• titanious

French

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA: /sitɥasjɔ̃/, SAMPA: /sitHasjO~/

Noun

situation f. (plural situations)

1. situation (all meanings)

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sɪtvaˈɧuːn/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

situation c.

1. a situation

Declension

Related terms

• nödsituation
• situationskomik

Synonyms

• läge

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