state of affairs

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Noun

state of affairs - the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time; "the present international situation is dangerous"; "wondered how such a state of affairs had come about"; "eternal truths will be neither true nor eternal unless they have fresh meaning for every new social situation"- Franklin D.Roosevelt

situation

state - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state"

absurd, the absurd - a situation in which life seems irrational and meaningless; "The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth"--Albert Camus

acceptance - the state of being acceptable and accepted; "torn jeans received no acceptance at the country club"

ballgame, new ballgame - a particular situation that is radically different from the preceding situation; "HDTV looks the same but it's really a whole new ballgame"

challenge - a demanding or stimulating situation; "they reacted irrationally to the challenge of Russian power"

childlessness - the condition of being without offspring

complication - a situation or condition that is complex or confused; "her coming was a serious complication"

crowding - a situation in which people or things are crowded together; "he didn't like the crowding on the beach"

disequilibrium - loss of equilibrium attributable to an unstable situation in which some forces outweigh others

element - the situation in which you are happiest and most effective; "in your element"

environment - the totality of surrounding conditions; "he longed for the comfortable environment of his living room"

equilibrium - a stable situation in which forces cancel one another

exclusion - the state of being excluded

fish bowl, fishbowl, goldfish bowl - a state of affairs in which you have no privacy; "the president lives in a goldfish bowl"

hotbed - a situation that is ideal for rapid development (especially of something bad); "it was a hotbed of vice"

inclusion - the state of being included

intestacy - the situation of being or dying without a legally valid will

picture, scene - a situation treated as an observable object; "the political picture is favorable"; "the religious scene in England has changed in the last century"

prison house, prison - a prisonlike situation; a place of seeming confinement

rejection - the state of being rejected

size of it, size - the actual state of affairs; "that's the size of the situation"; "she hates me, that's about the size of it"

square one - the situation in which you begin an endeavor and to which you return if your efforts fail; "the police are now back at square one after having arrested and released 27 men"; "she has tried to diet but always ends up back at square one"

status quo - the existing state of affairs

thing - a special situation; "this thing has got to end"; "it is a remarkable thing"

state of affairs

noun situation, state, circumstances, scenario, equation, plight, status quo This state of affairs cannot continue for too long.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

state of affairs

n → circostanze fpl → situazione f

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

References in classic literature ?

"I have wished, monseigneur, to learn your intentions relating to the existing state of affairs in England.

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Chihun reported the state of affairs to the planter, who came out with a dog-whip and cracked it furiously.

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He had received M'Tavish and his party with uncalled for hospitality, as though they were friends and allies, instead of being a party of observation, come to reconnoitre the state of affairs at Astoria, and to await the arrival of a hostile ship.

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I believe an "unconscious" desire is merely a causal law of our behaviour,* namely, that we remain restlessly active until a certain state of affairs is realized, when we achieve temporary equilibrium If we know beforehand what this state of affairs is, our desire is conscious; if not, unconscious.

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The same evening Turlington was at his office in Austin Friars, investigating the state of affairs, with his head clerk to help him.

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It was in any case over MY life, MY past, and MY friends alone that we could take anything like our ease--a state of affairs that led them sometimes without the least pertinence to break out into sociable reminders.

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In this state of affairs it occurred to Mrs General, that she might

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"You think I'm an old man and don't understand the present state of affairs?" concluded his father.

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In the meantime the state of affairs was not that of a truce but of a stalemate.

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Not permitted himself to run with the pack, the curious state of affairs obtained that no member of the pack could run outside the pack.

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"About George?" she said in a tone so discomfited that Maria and Miss Wirt laughed at the other side of the door, and even that abandoned wretch of a Dobbin felt inclined to smile himself; for he was not altogether unconscious of the state of affairs: George having often bantered him gracefully and said, "Hang it, Will, why don't you take old Jane?

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All due honor, therefore, to the ingenuity with which you have filled the hiatus, and shown the state of affairs between us by a discourse on " surplus value," cribbed from an imperfect report of one of my public lectures, and from the pages of Karl Marx!