conditional relation
- noun
- /kənˈdɪʃənəl rɪˈleɪʃən/
- Specialized
- The statement 'If it rains, the ground gets wet' expresses a conditional relation.
Examples
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In logic, a conditional relation states that if the hypothesis is true, the conclusion must also be true.
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Teachers often use conditional relations to teach students about cause and effect in reasoning.
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The conditional relation is clear.
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This is a conditional relation.
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In logic, a conditional relation states that if the hypothesis is true, the conclusion must also be true.
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The statement 'If it rains, the ground gets wet' expresses a conditional relation.
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Teachers often use conditional relations to teach students about cause and effect in reasoning.
Synonyms
A logical relation where if one statement is true, another must be true
A sentence that says what will happen if something else happens
A connection between two statements that makes the second true if the first is true
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'a relation that depends on stated conditions' is directly and predictably built from 'conditional' (depending on conditions) + 'relation' (a connection), so a learner who knows both words can derive the basic meaning. The phrase follows standard compositional patterns and is cross-linguistically transparent, although the precise formal-logical framing ('if p, then q') is a more technical instantiation of that general idea.
Etymology
Conditional relation can be remembered with the simple image of two dominoes: when the first domino falls it makes the second fall. That is like the idea 'if p, then q', so a conditional relation means 'if the first is true, the second must also be true'.