Rule vs. Condition — What's the Difference?
By Fiza Rafique & Maham Liaqat — Updated on March 22, 2024
A rule is a formal guideline or principle designed to influence actions or behavior, while a condition is a specific requirement or circumstance that affects or determines an outcome.
Difference Between Rule and Condition
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A rule often represents a prescribed guide for conduct or action within a specific context or system, aiming to ensure order, fairness, or safety. For example, traffic rules regulate how vehicles operate on the road to prevent accidents. Whereas, a condition refers to a prerequisite or state that must be met for certain actions to occur or for agreements to be valid. Conditions can be seen in contracts, where specific terms must be satisfied for the contract to be executed.
Rules are generally static and universally applicable within their context, serving as standards that must be followed. For instance, a rule in a classroom might be that students must raise their hands to speak. On the other hand, conditions can be more dynamic and situation-specific, such as weather conditions affecting the launch of a space shuttle.
While rules are enforced by authorities or institutions and often carry penalties for non-compliance, conditions do not inherently possess enforcement mechanisms. Instead, they represent states or criteria that naturally influence outcomes or decisions. For example, the condition of a loan might influence a person's decision to purchase a home.
Rules are designed to guide behavior in a predictable manner, often aiming to prevent undesirable outcomes by setting boundaries on actions. Conditions, however, are more about the circumstances or criteria that must be met for certain processes to proceed or decisions to be made, like conditions for eligibility in a competition.
Rules are about compliance and governance, establishing what one must or must not do. Conditions, conversely, are about circumstances or criteria affecting or dictating the feasibility or validity of actions and agreements.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A formal guideline or principle for actions.
A specific requirement or circumstance.
Purpose
To influence behavior and ensure order.
To specify criteria or prerequisites.
Nature
Generally static and universally applicable.
Dynamic and situation-specific.
Enforcement
Enforced by authorities, with penalties.
No inherent enforcement mechanism.
Example
"Students must raise their hands to speak."
"Loan approval is contingent upon credit score."
Compare with Definitions
Rule
A prescribed directive for conduct.
The school's rules include a dress code that all students must follow.
Condition
A prerequisite for eligibility or participation.
One of the conditions for entry into the competition is being a resident of the state.
Rule
A standard or convention in specific fields or disciplines.
Grammatical rules help us construct coherent sentences.
Condition
Terms specified in agreements or contracts.
The contract includes conditions for early termination.
Rule
Regulations established by authorities or organizations.
Company rules stipulate no personal calls during work hours.
Condition
Circumstances or factors affecting an outcome.
Market conditions influence investment decisions.
Rule
A principle governing behavior or operations.
The rules of the game were explained before play began.
Condition
Put into a better state;
He conditions old cars
Rule
Guidelines designed to control or influence actions.
Traffic rules aim to prevent accidents on roads.
Condition
A requirement that must be met for something to happen.
A condition of the job offer includes passing a background check.
Rule
Governing power or its possession or use; authority.
Condition
A specific state or situation affecting decisions or actions.
The success of the outdoor event is subject to weather conditions.
Rule
The duration of such power.
Condition
Apply conditioner to in order to make smooth and shiny;
I condition my hair after washing it
Rule
An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.
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
Rule
The body of regulations prescribed by the founder of a religious order for governing the conduct of its members.
Condition
The circumstances or factors affecting the way in which people live or work, especially with regard to their well-being
Harsh working conditions
Rule
A usual, customary, or generalized course of action or behavior
"The rule of life in the defense bar ordinarily is to go along and get along" (Scott Turow).
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
Rule
A generalized statement that describes what is true in most or all cases
In this office, hard work is the rule, not the exception.
Condition
Have a significant influence on or determine (the manner or outcome of something)
National choices are conditioned by the international political economy
Rule
(Mathematics) A standard method or procedure for solving a class of problems.
Condition
Bring (something) into the desired state for use
A product for conditioning leather
Rule
A court decision serving as a precedent for subsequent cases
The Miranda rule.
Condition
Apply a conditioner to (the hair)
I condition my hair regularly
Rule
A legal doctrine or principle.
Condition
Set prior requirements on (something) before it can occur or be done
Congressmen have sought to limit and condition military and economic aid
Rule
A court order.
Condition
A mode or state of being
We bought a used boat in excellent condition.
Rule
A minor regulation or law.
Condition
Conditions Existing circumstances
Economic conditions have improved. The news reported the latest weather conditions.
Rule
A statute or regulation governing the court process
Rule of procedure.
Rule of evidence.
Condition
(Archaic) Social position; rank.
Rule
See ruler.
Condition
A state of health
Has the patient's condition deteriorated?.
Rule
(Printing) A thin metal strip of various widths and designs, used to print borders or lines, as between columns.
Condition
A state of physical fitness
Have you exercised enough to get back into condition?.
Rule
To exercise control, dominion, or direction over; govern
Rule a kingdom.
Condition
A disease or physical ailment
A heart condition.
Rule
To have a powerful influence over; dominate
"Many found the lanky westerner naive, and supposed that he would be ruled by one of his more commanding cabinet officers" (William Marvel).
Condition
One that is indispensable to the appearance or occurrence of another; a prerequisite
Compatibility is a condition of a successful marriage.
Rule
To be a preeminent or dominant factor in
"It was a place where ... middle-class life was ruled by a hankering for all things foreign" (Amitav Ghosh).
Condition
One that restricts or modifies another; a qualification
I'll make you a promise but with one condition.
Rule
To mark with straight parallel lines.
Condition
(Grammar) The dependent clause of a conditional sentence; protasis.
Rule
To mark (a straight line), as with a ruler.
Condition
(Logic) A proposition on which another proposition depends; the antecedent of a conditional proposition.
Rule
To be in total control or command; exercise supreme authority.
Condition
A provision making the effect of a legal instrument contingent on the occurrence of an uncertain future event.
Rule
To formulate and issue a decree or decision.
Condition
The event itself.
Rule
To prevail at a particular level or rate
Prices ruled low.
Condition
To make dependent on a condition or conditions
Use of the cabin is conditioned on your keeping it clean.
Rule
(Slang) To be excellent or superior
That new video game rules!.
Condition
To stipulate as a condition
“He only conditioned that the marriage should not take place before his return” (Jane Austen).
Rule
A regulation, law, guideline.
All participants must adhere to the rules.
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).
Rule
A regulating principle.
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.
Rule
The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control.
Condition
To render fit for work or use
Spent weeks conditioning the old car.
Rule
A normal condition or state of affairs.
My rule is to rise at six o'clock.
As a rule, our senior editors are serious-minded.
Condition
To improve the physical fitness of (the body, for example), as through repeated sessions of strenuous physical activity.
Rule
(obsolete) Conduct; behaviour.
Condition
(Psychology) To cause (an organism) to respond in a specific manner to a previously unrelated stimulus, as in operant conditioning or classical conditioning.
Rule
(legal) An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit.
Condition
To treat (the air in a room, for example) by air-conditioning.
Rule
(math) A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result.
A rule for extracting the cube root
Condition
To replace moisture or oils in (hair, for example) by use of a therapeutic product.
Rule
A ruler; device for measuring, a straightedge, a measure.
Condition
A logical clause or phrase that a conditional statement uses. The phrase can either be true or false.
Rule
A straight line continuous mark, as made by a pen or the like, especially one lying across a paper as a guide for writing.
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.
Rule
A thin plate of brass or other metal, of the same height as the type, and used for printing lines, as between columns on the same page, or in tabular work.
Condition
(law) A clause in a contract or agreement indicating that a certain contingency may modify the principal obligation in some way.
Rule
(obsolete) Revelry.
Condition
The health status of a medical patient.
My aunt couldn’t walk up the stairs in her condition.
Rule
To regulate, be in charge of, make decisions for, reign over.
Condition
A certain abnormal state of health; a malady or sickness.
Rule
To excel.
This game rules!
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.
Rule
(intransitive) To decide judicially.
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.
Rule
(transitive) To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice.
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.
Rule
(transitive) To mark (paper or the like) with rules lines.
Condition
To subject to the process of acclimation.
I became conditioned to the absence of seasons in San Diego.
Rule
To revel.
Condition
To subject to different conditions, especially as an exercise.
They were conditioning their shins in their karate class.
Rule
That which is prescribed or laid down as a guide for conduct or action; a governing direction for a specific purpose; an authoritative enactment; a regulation; a prescription; a precept; as, the rules of various societies; the rules governing a school; a rule of etiquette or propriety; the rules of cricket.
We profess to have embraced a religion which contains the most exact rules for the government of our lives.
Condition
To make dependent on a condition to be fulfilled; to make conditional on.
Rule
Uniform or established course of things.
'T is against the rule of nature.
Condition
(transitive) To place conditions or limitations upon.
Rule
Systematic method or practice; as, my ule is to rise at six o'clock.
This uncivil rule; she shall know of it.
Condition
To shape the behaviour of someone to do something.
The children were conditioned to speak up if they had any disagreements.
Rule
The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control.
Obey them that have the rule over you.
His stern rule the groaning land obeyed.
Condition
(transitive) To treat (the hair) with hair conditioner.
Rule
An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit.
Condition
(transitive) To contract; to stipulate; to agree.
Rule
A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result; as, a rule for extracting the cube root.
Condition
(transitive) To test or assay, as silk (to ascertain the proportion of moisture it contains).
Rule
A general principle concerning the formation or use of words, or a concise statement thereof; thus, it is a rule in England, that s or es , added to a noun in the singular number, forms the plural of that noun; but "man" forms its plural "men", and is an exception to the rule.
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
Rule
A straight strip of wood, metal, or the like, which serves as a guide in drawing a straight line; a ruler.
A judicious artist will use his eye, but he will trust only to his rule.
Condition
To impose upon an object those relations or conditions without which knowledge and thought are alleged to be impossible.
Rule
A thin plate of metal (usually brass) of the same height as the type, and used for printing lines, as between columns on the same page, or in tabular work.
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.
Rule
To control the will and actions of; to exercise authority or dominion over; to govern; to manage.
A bishop then must be blameless; . . . one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection.
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.
Rule
To control or direct by influence, counsel, or persuasion; to guide; - used chiefly in the passive.
I think she will be ruledIn all respects by me.
Condition
Temperament; disposition; character.
The condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil.
Rule
To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice.
That's are ruled case with the schoolmen.
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.
Rule
To require or command by rule; to give as a direction or order of court.
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.
Rule
To mark with lines made with a pen, pencil, etc., guided by a rule or ruler; to print or mark with lines by means of a rule or other contrivance effecting a similar result; as, to rule a sheet of paper of a blank book.
Condition
To make terms; to stipulate.
Pay me back my credit,And I'll condition with ye.
Rule
To have power or command; to exercise supreme authority; - often followed by over.
By me princes rule, and nobles.
We subdue and rule over all other creatures.
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.
Rule
To lay down and settle a rule or order of court; to decide an incidental point; to enter a rule.
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.
Rule
To keep within a (certain) range for a time; to be in general, or as a rule; as, prices ruled lower yesterday than the day before.
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.
Rule
A principle or condition that customarily governs behavior;
It was his rule to take a walk before breakfast
Short haircuts were the regulation
Condition
To test or assay, as silk (to ascertain the proportion of moisture it contains).
Rule
Something regarded as a normative example;
The convention of not naming the main character
Violence is the rule not the exception
His formula for impressing visitors
Condition
Train; acclimate.
Rule
Prescribed guide for conduct or action
Condition
A state at a particular time;
A condition (or state) of disrepair
The current status of the arms negotiations
Rule
(linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice
Condition
A mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing;
The human condition
Rule
A basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct;
Their principles of composition characterized all their works
Condition
An assumption on which rests the validity or effect of something else
Rule
A rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system;
The principle of the conservation of mass
The principle of jet propulsion
The right-hand rule for inductive fields
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
Rule
The duration of a monarch's or government's power;
During the rule of Elizabeth
Condition
The state of (good) health (especially in the phrases `in condition' or `in shape' or `out of condition' or `out of shape')
Rule
Dominance or power through legal authority;
France held undisputed dominion over vast areas of Africa
The rule of Caesar
Condition
Information that should be kept in mind when making a decision;
Another consideration is the time it would take
Rule
Directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted;
He knew the rules of chess
Condition
The procedure that is varied in order to estimate a variable's effect by comparison with a control condition
Rule
Any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way of life of members of a religious order;
The rule of St. Dominic
Condition
Establish a conditioned response
Rule
(mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems;
He determined the upper bound with Descartes' rule of signs
He gave us a general formula for attacking polynomials
Condition
Train by instruction and practice; especially to teach self-control;
Parents must discipline their children
Is this dog trained?
Rule
Measuring stick consisting of a strip of wood or metal or plastic with a straight edge that is used for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths
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
Rule
Exercise authority over; as of nations;
Who is governing the country now?
Rule
Decide with authority;
The King decreed that all first-born males should be killed
Rule
Be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance;
Money reigns supreme here
Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood
Rule
Decide on and make a declaration about;
Find someone guilty
Rule
Have an affinity with; of signs of the zodiac
Rule
Mark or draw with a ruler;
Rule the margins
Rule
Keep in check;
Rule one's temper
Common Curiosities
Are rules always formal?
Yes, rules are typically formal guidelines established by authorities or institutions.
What is a condition?
A specific requirement or circumstance affecting or determining an outcome.
Do rules apply universally?
Within their context, rules are generally universal and must be followed by everyone subject.
Are there penalties for not following rules?
Yes, failing to comply with rules can result in penalties or disciplinary action.
What is a rule?
A formal guideline or principle designed to influence actions or behavior.
Can conditions enforce behavior?
Conditions set criteria that must be met, but they do not enforce behavior like rules.
Can conditions influence decisions?
Conditions can greatly influence decisions by setting prerequisites or creating specific circumstances.
Can a condition be a part of a contract?
Yes, contracts often include specific conditions that must be met for the agreement to be valid.
Do rules change frequently?
Rules tend to be more static, changing less frequently than conditions.
What role do rules play in society?
Rules help maintain order, fairness, and safety in society.
How do rules differ from conditions?
Rules are prescribed guidelines for behavior, whereas conditions are specific requirements for certain outcomes.
Can everyone set rules?
Typically, only authorities, institutions, or organizations have the power to establish rules.
Can the absence of conditions affect outcomes?
Yes, the absence of necessary conditions can prevent certain actions or outcomes.
Can conditions be dynamic?
Yes, conditions can change based on circumstances and are often situation-specific.
How do conditions affect agreements?
Conditions determine the validity and execution of agreements by specifying necessary terms.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
