VocabauraVOCABAURA

state

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Condition of prosperity or grandeur.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

stayt
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsteɪt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.

  2. A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.

  3. physics

    A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.

  4. colloquialin the singular

    A mess; disorder; a bad condition or set of circumstances.

  5. High social standing or circumstance.

  6. Pomp, ceremony, or dignity.

verb

  1. transitive

    To declare to be a fact.

  2. transitive

    To make known.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.

Used this way, state is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “state”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Political

Other combinations

state lawwelfare statesteady statefree stateyork statepresent state

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • statornounPerson or profession · specialist

    Mechanical device consisting of the stationary part of a motor or generator in or around which the rotor revolves.

  • statementnounDerived noun

    A message that is stated or declared.

  • staticnounDerived noun

    A crackling or hissing noise caused by electrical interference.

  • statuarynounDerived noun · specialist

    Statues collectively.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • state treasurernounCompound term

    The treasurer for a state government.

  • stately homenounCompound term

    A mansion that is (or formerly was) occupied by an aristocratic family.

  • states generalnounCompound term

    Assembly of the estates of an entire country especially the sovereign body of the Dutch republic from 16th to 18th centuries.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “state” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.