state of affairs
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A situation or set of circumstances
Literally: condition of things
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The current state of affairs in the company is unstable
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Near equivalent
tình hình
(noun) situation, state of affairs
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
tình huống
(noun) situation, state of affairs
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
thực trạng
(noun) actual situation; real state of affairs
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
cục diện
(noun) situation; state of affairs
Tiếng Việt
Common questions
What does “state of affairs” mean?
A situation or set of circumstances Literally: condition of things
Is “state of affairs” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“tình hình” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.