Condition vs. Criterion — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 5, 2024
Conditions are states of being that must be met for certain outcomes, whereas criteria are standards or principles by which things are judged or decided.
Difference Between Condition and Criterion
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Conditions refer to the specific requirements or states of being that must be fulfilled or met for certain actions to take place or agreements to be valid. These can be environmental, legal, or situational prerequisites. On the other hand, criteria are the standards, rules, or tests by which decisions are made, judgments are passed, or evaluations are conducted. They serve as a basis for comparison and assessment.
While conditions often denote prerequisites necessary for an event or action to occur, criteria are used to evaluate or judge the quality, importance, or worth of something. For example, in a contract, conditions might include timely payment and delivery deadlines, whereas criteria might be used to evaluate the performance or quality of the delivered goods or services.
Conditions are typically non-negotiable and must be met as a minimum requirement for something to proceed. In contrast, criteria can vary in their level of importance or weight, and they can be prioritized or adjusted depending on the context or objectives of the evaluation process.
In legal or formal agreements, conditions are clearly outlined as part of the terms that must be adhered to by all parties involved. Failing to meet these conditions can result in the nullification of the agreement or penalties. Criteria, however, are more often used in the context of assessments, selections, and judgments, such as in the evaluation of proposals, where they form the basis for making informed choices.
The understanding and application of conditions versus criteria can significantly impact decision-making processes. Conditions set the stage for actions or agreements to be valid, while criteria are instrumental in guiding choices, ensuring quality, and facilitating fair assessments and comparisons.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A requirement or state that must be fulfilled for something to occur.
A standard or principle used for making judgments or decisions.
Usage
Prerequisites for actions or validity of agreements.
Basis for evaluation, selection, or judgment.
Flexibility
Typically non-negotiable and must be met.
Can vary and be prioritized; more flexible.
Context
Legal agreements, environmental or situational prerequisites.
Assessments, evaluations, comparisons.
Impact
Determines whether an action can proceed or an agreement is valid.
Guides decision-making, quality assessments, and choices.
Compare with Definitions
Condition
Requirement for Validity.
The condition for the warranty to apply is that the product must be used according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Criterion
Guide for Decision Making.
Cost-effectiveness is the leading criterion for project approval.
Condition
Prerequisite State.
A key condition for plant growth is adequate sunlight.
Criterion
Standard for Evaluation.
One criterion for selecting the vendor is their response time to inquiries.
Condition
Essential for Occurrence.
The condition for the chemical reaction is the presence of a catalyst.
Criterion
Basis for Judgment.
Originality is a crucial criterion in the art competition.
Condition
Legal or Formal Requirement.
Meeting the conditions of the loan agreement includes maintaining a minimum balance in the account.
Criterion
Test for Quality or Importance.
The criterion for the award includes innovation and market impact.
Condition
Environmental or Situational.
Conditions for the outdoor event include clear weather and temperatures above 20°C.
Criterion
Principle for Comparison.
The main criterion for the scholarship is academic excellence.
Condition
The state of something with regard to its appearance, quality, or working order
The wiring is in good condition
The bridge is in an extremely dangerous condition
Criterion
A principle or standard by which something may be judged or decided
They award a green label to products that meet certain environmental criteria
Condition
The circumstances or factors affecting the way in which people live or work, especially with regard to their well-being
Harsh working conditions
Criterion
A standard, rule, or test on which a judgment or decision can be based.
Condition
A situation that must exist before something else is possible or permitted
All personnel should comply with this policy as a condition of employment
For a member to borrow money, three conditions have to be met
Criterion
A standard or test by which individual things or people may be compared and judged.
Criterion of choice, of decision, of selection
Condition
Have a significant influence on or determine (the manner or outcome of something)
National choices are conditioned by the international political economy
Criterion
A standard of judging; any approved or established rule or test, by which facts, principles opinions, and conduct are tried in forming a correct judgment respecting them.
Of the diseases of the mind there is no criterion.
Inferences founded on such enduring criteria.
Condition
Bring (something) into the desired state for use
A product for conditioning leather
Criterion
A basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated;
They set the measure for all subsequent work
Condition
Apply a conditioner to (the hair)
I condition my hair regularly
Criterion
The ideal in terms of which something can be judged;
They live by the standards of their community
Condition
Set prior requirements on (something) before it can occur or be done
Congressmen have sought to limit and condition military and economic aid
Condition
A mode or state of being
We bought a used boat in excellent condition.
Condition
Conditions Existing circumstances
Economic conditions have improved. The news reported the latest weather conditions.
Condition
(Archaic) Social position; rank.
Condition
A state of health
Has the patient's condition deteriorated?.
Condition
A state of physical fitness
Have you exercised enough to get back into condition?.
Condition
A disease or physical ailment
A heart condition.
Condition
One that is indispensable to the appearance or occurrence of another; a prerequisite
Compatibility is a condition of a successful marriage.
Condition
One that restricts or modifies another; a qualification
I'll make you a promise but with one condition.
Condition
(Grammar) The dependent clause of a conditional sentence; protasis.
Condition
(Logic) A proposition on which another proposition depends; the antecedent of a conditional proposition.
Condition
A provision making the effect of a legal instrument contingent on the occurrence of an uncertain future event.
Condition
The event itself.
Condition
To make dependent on a condition or conditions
Use of the cabin is conditioned on your keeping it clean.
Condition
To stipulate as a condition
“He only conditioned that the marriage should not take place before his return” (Jane Austen).
Condition
To cause to be in a certain condition; shape or influence
“Our modern conceptions of historiography [are] conditioned by Western intellectual traditions” (Carol Meyers).
Condition
To accustom (oneself or another) to something; adapt
Had to condition herself to long hours of hard work.
Conditioned the troops to marches at high altitudes.
Condition
To render fit for work or use
Spent weeks conditioning the old car.
Condition
To improve the physical fitness of (the body, for example), as through repeated sessions of strenuous physical activity.
Condition
(Psychology) To cause (an organism) to respond in a specific manner to a previously unrelated stimulus, as in operant conditioning or classical conditioning.
Condition
To treat (the air in a room, for example) by air-conditioning.
Condition
To replace moisture or oils in (hair, for example) by use of a therapeutic product.
Condition
A logical clause or phrase that a conditional statement uses. The phrase can either be true or false.
Condition
A requirement or requisite.
Environmental protection is a condition for sustainability.
What other planets might have the right conditions for life?
The union had a dispute over sick time and other conditions of employment.
Condition
(law) A clause in a contract or agreement indicating that a certain contingency may modify the principal obligation in some way.
Condition
The health status of a medical patient.
My aunt couldn’t walk up the stairs in her condition.
Condition
A certain abnormal state of health; a malady or sickness.
Condition
The state or quality.
National reports on the condition of public education are dismal.
The condition of man can be classified as civilized or uncivilized.
Condition
A particular state of being.
Hypnosis is a peculiar condition of the nervous system.
Steps were taken to ameliorate the condition of slavery.
Security is defined as the condition of not being threatened.
Aging is a condition over which we are powerless.
Condition
(obsolete) The situation of a person or persons, particularly their social and/or economic class, rank.
A man of his condition has no place to make requests.
Condition
To subject to the process of acclimation.
I became conditioned to the absence of seasons in San Diego.
Condition
To subject to different conditions, especially as an exercise.
They were conditioning their shins in their karate class.
Condition
To make dependent on a condition to be fulfilled; to make conditional on.
Condition
(transitive) To place conditions or limitations upon.
Condition
To shape the behaviour of someone to do something.
The children were conditioned to speak up if they had any disagreements.
Condition
(transitive) To treat (the hair) with hair conditioner.
Condition
(transitive) To contract; to stipulate; to agree.
Condition
(transitive) To test or assay, as silk (to ascertain the proportion of moisture it contains).
Condition
To put under conditions; to require to pass a new examination or to make up a specified study, as a condition of remaining in one's class or in college.
To condition a student who has failed in some branch of study
Condition
To impose upon an object those relations or conditions without which knowledge and thought are alleged to be impossible.
Condition
Mode or state of being; state or situation with regard to external circumstances or influences, or to physical or mental integrity, health, strength, etc.; predicament; rank; position, estate.
I am in my conditionA prince, Miranda; I do think, a king.
And O, what man's condition can be worseThan his whom plenty starves and blessings curse?
The new conditions of life.
Condition
Essential quality; property; attribute.
It seemed to us a condition and property of divine powers and beings to be hidden and unseen to others.
Condition
Temperament; disposition; character.
The condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil.
Condition
That which must exist as the occasion or concomitant of something else; that which is requisite in order that something else should take effect; an essential qualification; stipulation; terms specified.
I had as lief take her dowry with this condition, to be whipped at the high cross every morning.
Many are apt to believe remission of sins, but they believe it without the condition of repentance.
Condition
A clause in a contract, or agreement, which has for its object to suspend, to defeat, or in some way to modify, the principal obligation; or, in case of a will, to suspend, revoke, or modify a devise or bequest. It is also the case of a future uncertain event, which may or may not happen, and on the occurrence or non-occurrence of which, the accomplishment, recission, or modification of an obligation or testamentary disposition is made to depend.
Condition
To make terms; to stipulate.
Pay me back my credit,And I'll condition with ye.
Condition
To impose upon an object those relations or conditions without which knowledge and thought are alleged to be impossible.
To think of a thing is to condition.
Condition
To invest with, or limit by, conditions; to burden or qualify by a condition; to impose or be imposed as the condition of.
Seas, that daily gain upon the shore,Have ebb and flow conditioning their march.
Condition
To contract; to stipulate; to agree.
It was conditioned between Saturn and Titan, that Saturn should put to death all his male children.
Condition
To put under conditions; to require to pass a new examination or to make up a specified study, as a condition of remaining in one's class or in college; as, to condition a student who has failed in some branch of study.
Condition
To test or assay, as silk (to ascertain the proportion of moisture it contains).
Condition
Train; acclimate.
Condition
A state at a particular time;
A condition (or state) of disrepair
The current status of the arms negotiations
Condition
A mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing;
The human condition
Condition
An assumption on which rests the validity or effect of something else
Condition
(usually plural) a statement of what is required as part of an agreement;
The contract set out the conditions of the lease
The terms of the treaty were generous
Condition
The state of (good) health (especially in the phrases `in condition' or `in shape' or `out of condition' or `out of shape')
Condition
Information that should be kept in mind when making a decision;
Another consideration is the time it would take
Condition
The procedure that is varied in order to estimate a variable's effect by comparison with a control condition
Condition
Establish a conditioned response
Condition
Train by instruction and practice; especially to teach self-control;
Parents must discipline their children
Is this dog trained?
Condition
Specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement; make an express demand or provision in an agreement;
The will stipulates that she can live in the house for the rest of her life
The contract stipulates the dates of the payments
Condition
Put into a better state;
He conditions old cars
Condition
Apply conditioner to in order to make smooth and shiny;
I condition my hair after washing it
Common Curiosities
How are criteria used in evaluations?
Criteria are used as benchmarks or standards to assess or compare quality, importance, or suitability.
What happens if conditions are not met?
Failure to meet conditions can result in the nullification of an agreement or the prevention of an event from occurring.
Can conditions be negotiable?
Conditions are typically non-negotiable and must be met as part of an agreement or prerequisite.
How do criteria influence decision-making?
Criteria guide decision-making by providing a framework for judging alternatives and making informed choices.
What is a criterion?
A criterion is a principle or standard used to judge, evaluate, or make decisions.
What is a condition?
A condition is a requirement or state that must be fulfilled for an event to occur or an agreement to be valid.
Can conditions change once established?
Conditions are usually fixed once agreed upon, but they may be subject to renegotiation if all parties consent.
What role do conditions play in legal agreements?
Conditions specify the requirements that must be fulfilled for the agreement to be valid and enforceable.
Are criteria the same for every evaluation?
No, criteria can vary depending on the context, objectives, and priorities of the evaluation process.
Can something be both a condition and a criterion?
In different contexts, a factor might serve as a condition in one scenario (e.g., a prerequisite) and a criterion in another (e.g., for evaluation).
What is an example of a criterion in academic settings?
In academic settings, a common criterion for grading might be the demonstration of critical thinking skills.
Do conditions have an impact on project management?
Yes, conditions can significantly impact project management by defining the prerequisites for project initiation and continuation.
How are conditions applied in environmental settings?
Conditions in environmental settings typically relate to factors that must be present for certain ecological processes to take place.
Why are criteria important in assessments?
Criteria ensure that evaluations are consistent, fair, and based on relevant standards.
How do criteria benefit the selection process?
Criteria make the selection process transparent, allowing for fair and objective comparisons between options.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
