situation

See also: Situation

English

Alternative forms

• scituation (hypercorrect, obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English situacioun, situacion, from Middle French situation, from Medieval Latin situatio (“position, situation”), from situare (“to locate, place”), from Latin situs (“a site”). By surface analysis, situate +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sĭt-yo͞o-ā'shən, sĭch-o͞o-ā'shən, IPA^(key): /ˌsɪt.juːˈeɪ.ʃən/, /ˌsɪ.t͡ʃuˈ(w)eɪ.ʃən/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

situation (plural situations)

1. The combination of circumstances at a given moment; a state of affairs.

   The United States is in an awkward situation with debt default looming.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.

2. The way in which something is positioned vis-à-vis its surroundings.

   The Botanical Gardens are in a delightful situation on the river bank.

   • 1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC:

     […] 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.

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

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

4. Position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances.
5. (UK) A position of employment; a post.
   • 1843, Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol:

     ‘Let me hear another sound from you,’ said Scrooge, ‘and you’ll keep your Christmas by losing your situation!

   • 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Chapter 3”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:

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

   • 1946, Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling, Milt Gabler, Choo Choo Ch'Boogie:

     You take a morning paper from the top of the stack
     And read the situations from the front to the back
     The only job that's open need a man with a knack
     So put it right back in the rack Jack.

6. A difficult or unpleasant set of circumstances; a problem.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:difficult situation

   Boss, we've got a situation here…

7. (US, film industry) An individual movie theater.
   • 1950, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means, Revenue Revision of 1950: Hearings Before the Committee, page 1805:

     This survey includes all key situations (including Paramount Gulf Theaters) as well as suburban runs and small-town situations.

   • 1960, Motion Picture Herald, volumes 218-219, page 14:

     […] Craterian theatre, with a full-scale advance campaign and preliminary screenings held for opinion-makers. Results and reactions will be closely studied and, if popular, the idea will be extended to other situations.

8. (slang) An outfit, garment, or look.

   She is working some sort of amazing burgundy chiffon situation with gold piping.

Synonyms

• (combination of circumstances): condition, set up; see also Thesaurus:state

Derived terms

• chicken-and-egg situation
• in-basket situation
• interesting situation
• limit situation
• no-win situation
• situational
• situationism
• situation room
• situationship
• situation theory
• special situation
• sticky situation

 

Related terms

• site
• situate
• situated

Translations

A combination of circumstances at a particular time or location

• Maori: tūāhua

position vis-à-vis surroundings

• Albanian: situatë (sq) f
• Arabic: حَالَة (ar) f (ḥāla), وَضْع (ar) m (waḍʕ)

  South Levantine Arabic: وَضْع (ar) m (waḍʕ)

• Armenian: տեղադրություն (hy) (teġadrutʻyun), տեղ (hy) (teġ)
• Bashkir: торош (toroş)
• Belarusian: стано́вішча n (stanóvišča), сітуа́цыя f (situácyja)
• Bengali: হালত (bn) (halot)
• Bulgarian: положе́ние (bg) n (položénie), ситуа́ция (bg) f (situácija)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 形勢／形势 (zh) (xíngshì), 情況／情况 (zh) (qíngkuàng), 狀態／状态 (zh) (zhuàngtài)

• Czech: situace (cs) f, poloha (cs) f, místo (cs) n
• Danish: situation
• Dutch: situatie (nl)
• Finnish: sijainti (fi)
• French: situation (fr) f
• Galician: situación (gl) f
• Georgian: სიტუაცია (siṭuacia)
• German: Lage (de) f
• Greek: κατάσταση (el) f (katástasi)
• Hebrew: מיקום m (mikúm)
• Hindi: स्थिति (hi) f (sthiti)
• Hungarian: fekvés (hu)
• Irish: suíomh m
• Italian: situazione (it) f
• Japanese: 状態 (ja) (じょうたい, jōtai), 状況 (ja) (じょうきょう, jōkyō), 境遇 (ja) (きょうぐう, kyōgū), 情況 (ja) (じょうきょう, jōkyō)
• Kazakh: жағдай (jağdai), ахуал (axual)
• Korean: 상태(狀態) (ko) (sangtae), 상황(狀況) (ko) (sanghwang), 처지(處地) (ko) (cheoji)
• Kyrgyz: ситуация (ky) (situatsiya), жагдай (ky) (jagday), кырдаал (ky) (kırdaal)
• Latvian: stāvoklis m
• Lü: ᦋᦸᧂᧈᦂᦱᧃ (tsoang¹k̇aan)
• Macedonian: ситуација (mk) f (situacija)
• Maori: tūāhua, tūnga
• Mongolian: байрлал (mn) (bajrlal)
• Persian: وضعیت (fa) (vaz'iyyat), جایگاه (fa) (jâygâh)
• Polish: sytuacja (pl) f, pozycja (pl) f
• Portuguese: posição (pt) f
• Romanian: situare (ro) f, situație (ro) f
• Russian: расположе́ние (ru) n (raspoložénije), положе́ние (ru) n (položénije), ситуа́ция (ru) f (situácija), пози́ция (ru) f (pozícija)
• Scottish Gaelic: suidheachadh m
• Slovak: situácia (sk) f, poloha f
• Slovene: situacija f
• Spanish: localización (es) f, ubicación (es) f
• Swedish: läge (sv), plats (sv), placering (sv)
• Tajik: ҷойгоҳ (joygoh), ҷойгаҳ (joygah), макон (makon), мавқеъ (mavqeʾ), мавқеият (mavqeyiyat), ҷойгиршавӣ (joygiršavi), ҷой (joy), ҷо (tg) (jo)
• Thai: สถานการณ์ (th) (sà-tǎa-ná-gaan)
• Turkish: durum (tr), hâl (tr), yağday (tr)
• Ukrainian: ситуа́ція f (sytuácija), стано́вище n (stanóvyšče)
• Vietnamese: tình thế (vi), tình hình (vi)
• Yiddish: סיטואַציע f (situatsye)
• Zazaki: hal (diq), weziyet (diq), cayge

location

• Arabic: حَالَة (ar) f (ḥāla), وَضْع (ar) m (waḍʕ)
• Armenian: տեղադրություն (hy) (teġadrutʻyun), տեղ (hy) (teġ)
• Azerbaijani: mövqe (az), vəziyyət (az), yerləşdiyi yer
• Bashkir: урын (urın), урынлашыу (urınlaşıw), торош (toroş)
• Belarusian: месцазнахо́джанне n (mjescaznaxódžannje)
• Bulgarian: местоположе́ние (bg) n (mestopoložénie)
• Catalan: localització (ca) f, ubicació (ca) f, lloc (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 場所／场所 (zh) (chǎngsuǒ), 位置 (zh) (wèizhi)

• Dutch: plaats (nl) f, locatie (nl) f
• Finnish: sijainti (fi)
• French: lieu (fr) m, localisation (fr) f, situation (fr) f
• Galician: localización (gl) f
• German: Lage (de) f, Ort (de) m, Platz (de) m
• Greek: τοποθεσία (el) f (topothesía), θέση (el) f (thési)
• Hebrew: מיקום m (mikúm)
• Hindi: स्थिति (hi) f (sthiti)
• Hungarian: hely (hu)
• Irish: áit (ga) f
• Italian: posizione (it) f
• Japanese: 場所 (ja) (ばしょ, basho), 位置 (ja) (いち, ichi)
• Korean: 장소(場所) (ko) (jangso), 위치(位置) (ko) (wichi)
• Latvian: stāvoklis m
• Malayalam: സ്ഥിതി (ml) (sthiti)
• Maori: tūnga
• Persian: وضعیت (fa) (vaz'iyyat), موقعیت (fa) (mowqe'iyyat), جایگاه (fa) (jâygâh)
• Portuguese: localização (pt) f
• Romanian: poziție (ro) f, localizare (ro) f
• Russian: положе́ние (ru) n (položénije), местоположе́ние (ru) n (mestopoložénije), местонахожде́ние (ru) n (mestonaxoždénije), расположе́ние (ru) n (raspoložénije), пози́ция (ru) f (pozícija)
• Scottish Gaelic: suidheachadh m
• Slovak: miesto (sk)
• Spanish: localización (es) f, ubicación (es) f
• Swedish: plats (sv), läge (sv) n
• Ukrainian: місцеполо́ження n (miscepolóžennja), поло́ження n (polóžennja), розташува́ння n (roztašuvánnja)
• Vietnamese: vị trí (vi), địa điểm (vi)

one's status with regard to circumstances

• Arabic: حَالَة (ar) f (ḥāla), وَضْع (ar) m (waḍʕ)
• Armenian: դիրք (hy) (dirkʻ)
• Azerbaijani: durum (az), vəziyyət (az), hal (az), situasiya
• Bashkir: хәл (xəl)
• Belarusian: стан m (stan), сітуа́цыя f (situácyja), стано́вішча n (stanóvišča)
• Bulgarian: състояние (bg) n (sǎstojanie)
• Catalan: situació (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 情況／情况 (zh) (qíngkuàng), 狀態／状态 (zh) (zhuàngtài), 境遇 (zh) (jìngyù)

• Czech: situace (cs)
• Dutch: situatie (nl)
• Finnish: tilanne (fi)
• French: situation (fr) f
• Georgian: სიტუაცია (siṭuacia)
• German: Lage (de) f, Situation (de) f, Zustand (de) m
• Greek: κατάσταση (el) f (katástasi)
• Hindi: परिस्थिति (hi) (paristhiti)
• Hungarian: helyzet (hu)
• Indonesian: situasi (id), keadaan (id)
• Interlingua: situation
• Irish: cás m, scéal (ga) m
• Italian: situazione (it) f, condizione (it) f
• Japanese: 状態 (ja) (じょうたい, jōtai), 状況 (ja) (じょうきょう, jōkyō), 境遇 (ja) (きょうぐう, kyōgū)
• Korean: 상태(狀態) (ko) (sangtae), 상황(狀況) (ko) (sanghwang), 처지(處地) (ko) (cheoji)
• Latvian: stāvoklis m
• Malayalam: സാഹചര്യം (ml) (sāhacaryaṁ)
• Maori: pūāhua
• Persian: وضعیت (fa) (vaz'iyyat)
• Polish: sytuacja (pl) f, położenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: situação (pt) f
• Romanian: stare (ro) f, situație (ro)
• Russian: положе́ние (ru) n (položénije), ситуа́ция (ru) f (situácija), состоя́ние (ru) n (sostojánije)
• Scottish Gaelic: suidheachadh m
• Serbo-Croatian: situacija (sh) f, položaj (sh) m
• Slovak: situácia (sk)
• Spanish: situación (es) f, estado (es) m
• Swedish: plats (sv), status (sv), ställning (sv), situation (sv) c
• Telugu: స్థితి (te) (sthiti)
• Ukrainian: поло́ження n (polóžennja), ситуа́ція f (sytuácija), стан (uk) m (stan), стано́вище n (stanóvyšče)
• Urdu: حالات (hālāt)
• Zazaki: weziyet (diq)

state of affairs

• Arabic: حَالَة (ar) f (ḥāla), وَضْع (ar) m (waḍʕ)
• Armenian: իրավիճակ (hy) (iravičak), իրադրություն (hy) (iradrutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: vəziyyət (az), məqam (az), hal (az), durum (az)
• Bashkir: хәл (xəl)
• Bengali: পরিস্থিতি (bn) (poristhiti)
• Bulgarian: положение (bg) n (položenie), обстановка (bg) f (obstanovka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 情況／情况 (zh) (qíngkuàng), 狀態／状态 (zh) (zhuàngtài), 境遇 (zh) (jìngyù), 情勢／情势 (zh) (qíngshì)

• Czech: situace (cs) f
• Dutch: situatie (nl)
• Esperanto: aferstato, stato de aferoj, situacio
• Finnish: tilanne (fi), olosuhteet (fi), olot (fi)
• French: situation (fr) f
• Georgian: სიტუაცია (siṭuacia)
• German: Situation (de) f
• Greek: κατάσταση (el) f (katástasi)
• Hebrew: מצב (he) m (matsáv)
• Hindi: परिस्थिति (hi) f (paristhiti)
• Hungarian: körülmények (hu) pl, viszonyok (hu) pl
• Indonesian: situasi (id), keadaan (id)
• Interlingua: situation
• Irish: staid f, cúrsaí m pl
• Italian: situazione (it) f
• Japanese: 状況 (ja) (じょうきょう, jōkyō), 情勢 (ja) (じょうせい, jōsei)
• Korean: 상태(狀態) (ko) (sangtae), 상황(狀況) (ko) (sanghwang), 처지(處地) (ko) (cheoji)
• Latvian: stāvoklis m, situācija f
• Malayalam: അവസ്ഥ (ml) (avastha)
• Maori: pūāhua, āhuatanga (mi)
• Persian: وضعیت (fa) (vaz'iyyat)
• Polish: sytuacja (pl) f, położenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: situação (pt) f
• Romanian: stadiu (ro) n, etapă (ro) f, situație (ro) f
• Russian: ситуа́ция (ru) f (situácija), обстано́вка (ru) f (obstanóvka), положе́ние (ru) n (položénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: suidheachadh m
• Slovak: situácia (sk)
• Spanish: situación (es) f, estado (es) m
• Swedish: läge (sv), ställning (sv), situation (sv)
• Tajik: ҳол (hol), ҳолат (holat), вазъ (vazʾ), вазъият (vazʾiyat)
• Telugu: పరిస్థితి (te) (paristhiti)
• Ukrainian: обстано́вка f (obstanóvka), ситуа́ція f (sytuácija), стан (uk) m (stan)
• Vietnamese: tình hình (vi) (情形)
• Zazaki: waz, holet

position of employment

• Dutch: positie (nl) f
• Finnish: työpaikka (fi), tehtävä (fi), asema (fi)
• French: emploi (fr) m, poste (fr) m
• German: Stellung (de) f
• Greek: θέση (el) f (thési)
• Hungarian: állás (hu), hely (hu), munkaalkalom (hu)
• Irish: post m
• Persian: جایگاه (fa) (jâygâh), رتبه (fa) (rotbe), شأن (fa) (ša'n)
• Portuguese: situação (pt) f
• Romanian: post (ro) n, posturi (ro) n pl, poziţie (ro) f
• Russian: положе́ние (ru) n (položénije), до́лжность (ru) f (dólžnostʹ)
• Slovak: miesto (sk), pozícia
• Spanish: nivel (es) m, puesto (es) m
• Swedish: plats (sv), ställning (sv), tjänst (sv), anställning (sv)
• Tajik: ҷойгоҳ (joygoh), ҷойгоҳ (joygoh), рутба (rutba)
• Ukrainian: пос́ада f (pośada)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} situatie (nl) f, ^{(please verify)} ligging (nl) f, ^{(please verify)} toestand (nl) m
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} სიტუაცია (siṭuacia), ^{(please verify)} პონტი (ka) (ṗonṭi)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} situazione (it) f
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} situation (sv) c

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, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “situation”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “situation”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• titanious

French

Etymology

From situer +‎ -ation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.tɥa.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

situation f (plural situations)

1. situation (all meanings)

Derived terms

• comédie de situation
• comique de situation
• homme de la situation
• mise en situation
• situation intéressante

Descendants

• Polish: sytuacja, sytuacyja (Middle Polish), sytuacya (pre-reform orthography (1816))
  • Kashubian: sytuacjô
• → Romanian: situație

Further reading

• “situation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Interlingua

Noun

situation (plural situationes)

1. situation, state of affairs

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɪtvaˈɧuːn/, /sɪtɵaˈɧuːn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

situation c

1. a situation

Declension

Declension of situation

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	situation	situations
	definite	situationen	situationens
plural	indefinite	situationer	situationers
	definite	situationerna	situationernas

Synonyms

• läge

Related terms

• nödsituation
• situationskomedi

References

• situation in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• situation in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• situation in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)