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States

noun

the condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes: a state of health.

the condition of matter with respect to structure, form, constitution, phase, or the like: water in a gaseous state.

status, rank, or position in life; station: He dresses in a manner befitting his state.

the style of living befitting a person of wealth and high rank: to travel in state.

a particular condition of mind or feeling: to be in an excited state.

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an abnormally tense, nervous, or perturbed condition: He's been in a state since hearing about his brother's death.

a politically unified people occupying a definite territory; nation.

the territory, or one of the territories, of a government.

(sometimes initial capital letter) any of the bodies politic which together make up a federal union, as in the United States of America.

10.

the body politic as organized for civil rule and government (distinguished from church).

11.

the operations or activities of a central civil government: affairs of state.

12.

(initial capital letter) Also called State Department. Informal. the Department of State.

13.

Printing. a set of copies of an edition of a publication which differ from others of the same printing because of additions, corrections, or transpositions made during printing or at any time before publication.

14.

the States, Informal. the United States (usually used outside its borders): After a year's study in Spain, he returned to the States.

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adjective

15.

of or pertaining to the central civil government or authority.

16.

made, maintained, or chartered by or under the authority of one of the commonwealths that make up a federal union: a state highway; a state bank.

17.

characterized by, attended with, or involving ceremony: a state dinner.

18.

used on or reserved for occasions of ceremony.

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States is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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verb (used with object)

19.

to declare definitely or specifically: She stated her position on the case.

20.

to set forth formally in speech or writing: to state a hypothesis.

21.

to set forth in proper or definite form: to state a problem.

22.

to say.

23.

to fix or settle, as by authority.

Idiom

24.

lie in state, (of a corpse) to be exhibited publicly with honors before burial: The president's body lay in state for two days.

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English stat (noun), partly aphetic variant of estat estate, partly < Latin status condition (see status); in defs. 7–11 < Latin status (rērum) state (of things) or status (reī pūblicae) state (of the republic)

Related forms

stat·a·ble, state·a·ble, adjective

an·ti·state, adjective

coun·ter·state, verb, -stat·ed, -stat·ing.

out·state, verb (used with object), -stat·ed, -stat·ing.

sub·state, noun

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un·stat·a·ble, adjective

un·state·a·ble, adjective

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Synonyms
1. State, condition, situation, status are terms for existing circumstances or surroundings. State is the general word, often with no concrete implications or material relationships: the present state of affairs. Condition carries an implication of a relationship to causes and circumstances: The conditions made flying impossible. Situation suggests an arrangement of circumstances, related to one another and to the character of a person: He was master of the situation. Status carries official or legal implications; it suggests a complete picture of interrelated circumstances as having to do with rank, position, standing, a stage reached in progress, etc.: the status of negotiations. 3. standing. 17. stately, ceremonial, imposing, dignified. 19. aver, assert, asseverate, affirm. See maintain. 23. determine.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To States

Example Sentences

States in lighter shades have fewer of these restrictions.

State appropriations in some states have sharply declined as a percent of the cost of educating students.

The ivory-billed woodpecker was once found across the swampy forests of the south-eastern states.

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States in lighter shades have fewer of these restrictions.

State appropriations in some states have sharply declined as a percent of the cost of educating students.

The ivory-billed woodpecker was once found across the swampy forests of the south-eastern states.

Hard-core cavers in three southern states stop at nothing to probe an underworld wilderness.

These will likely be the states where the presidential election is decided.

Legislation proposed in two states would create a list of residents who want to remain off-limits to spammers.

Different budgeting practices among the states make it impossible to ensure that all figures are perfectly comparable.

Mississippi ranks first in world production of catfish and third among states in cotton.

Thus, in the superposition of states the resonator was never really in two totally distinct places.

Many feats of engineering boil down to a material's ability to switch between two different states.

Gravity can be postulated as only an interreaction of these interrelated states.

Now, with so many states in fiscal trouble, it's ridiculous.

The first nine states to apply for federal stimulus money meant for.

Few states boast such a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities so close to metropolitan.

Some winemakers in the cooler parts of those states make a hybrid that's lean and earthy yet still has generous fruit.

With unemployment claims reaching their highest levels in decades, some states are turning to the federal government.

Missouri is one of the leading states for wintering bald eagles.

High debt levels are causing states to take desperate measures to make their finances appear healthy.

People are rewriting textbooks in several states to soften the atrocities of slavery.

Bikelover states that the article made no distinction between perceived risk and actual risk.

The impact of a short shutdown would be limited, but a longer one could create problems for states operating on tight budgets.

As states face budget crises, they look to raise more money for programs financed by lotteries.

Six northeastern states auction off the right to emit global warming pollution.

Many states are questioning the criteria for winning, wondering why only two states won and criticizing a cap on future awards.

These quantum states continued for about six nanoseconds-about as long as the team expected-before fading away.

Some states are no longer guaranteeing loan forgiveness on certain kinds of student loans.

US states are beginning to attack another major source of global warming pollution besides power plants: your car.

Faced with deficits, three states are drawing on a profitable greenhouse gas initiative to balance budgets.

Tests reveal patients in vegetative states can form new memories.

Payments will go to states for signing up children who are eligible for public health insurance but had not enrolled.

The survey also showed that different drugs were used to differing degrees in different states.

It would help, however, if states released their data on lethal injections:.

And states are working on their own efforts to educate and ensure proper coordination in the event of an outbreak.

With preventable diseases on the rise, the states should get strict on vaccines.

Many people with the disorder do not spontaneously attempt to read the mental states of others--but can when asked.

Many impoverished states are landlocked, with no easy access to sea-based trade.

Right now many states require companies to disclose all.

Every brain area lights up under lots of different states.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

States (steɪts)

—n
	(functioning as singular or plural) the states an informal name for the United States of America

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

state

"political organization of a country, supreme civil power, government," 1530s, from state (n.1); this sense grew out of the meaning "condition of a country" with regard to government, prosperity, etc. (late 13c.), from L. phrases such as status rei publicæ "condition

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of the republic." Often in phrase church and state, which is attested from 1580s. The sense of "semi-independent political entity under a federal authority" (as in the United States of America) is from 1856; the British North American colonies occasionally were called states as far back as 1630s. The states has been short for "the United States of America" since 1777; hence stateside (1944), World War II U.S. military slang. State rights in U.S. political sense is attested from 1798; form states rights is first recorded 1858. Statesman is from 1590s

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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

state (stāt)
n.
A condition or situation; status.

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Matching Quote

"Within us, the people of the United States, there is evident a serious and purposeful rekindling of confidence, and I join in the hope that when my time as your President has ended, people might say this about our Nation: That we had remembered the words of Micah and renewed our search for humility, mercy, and justice."

-Jimmy Carter

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