n.
- A condition or mode of being, as with regard to circumstances: a state of confusion.
- A condition of being in a stage or form, as of structure, growth, or development: the fetal state.
- A mental or emotional condition: in a manic state.
- Informal. A condition of excitement or distress.
- Physics. The condition of a physical system with regard to phase, form, composition, or structure: Ice is the solid state of water.
- Social position or rank.
- Ceremony; pomp: foreign leaders dining in state at the White House.
- The supreme public power within a sovereign political entity.
- The sphere of supreme civil power within a given polity: matters of state.
- A specific mode of government: the socialist state.
- A body politic, especially one constituting a nation: the states of Eastern Europe.
- One of the more or less internally autonomous territorial and political units composing a federation under a sovereign government: the 48 contiguous states of the Union.
- Of or relating to a body politic or to an internally autonomous territorial or political unit constituting a federation under one government: a monarch dealing with state matters; the department that handles state security.
- Owned and operated by a state: state universities.
To set forth in words; declare.
[Middle English, from Old French estat, from Latin status.]
statable stat'a·ble or state'a·ble adj.SYNONYMS state, condition, situation, status. These nouns denote the mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing: an old factory in a state of disrepair; a jogger in healthy condition; a police officer responding to a dangerous situation; the uncertain status of the peace negotiations.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
