Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To place in a certain spot or position; locate.
  • transitive verb To place in a given context, category, or set of circumstances.
  • adjective Situated.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Placed, with reference to surroundings; located; situated.
  • To give a site or position to; place (among specified surroundings); locate.
  • To place in a particular state or condition; involve in specified relations; subject to certain circumstances: as, to be uncomfortably situated.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Having a site, situation, or location; being in a relative position; permanently fixed; placed; located.
  • adjective Placed; residing.
  • transitive verb rare To place.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To place on or into a physical location. Most commonly used adjectivally in past participle.
  • verb To place or put into an intangible place or position, such as social, ethical, fictional, etc. Most commonly used adjectivally in past participle and often used figuratively.
  • adjective Situated.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb determine or indicate the place, site, or limits of, as if by an instrument or by a survey
  • verb put (something somewhere) firmly

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin situāre, situāt-, to place, from Latin situs, location; see tkei- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Late Latin situātus, past participle of Medieval Latin situō ("to locate, place"), from Latin situs ("a site").

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Examples

  • Some opening titles situate us a bit, but that's it, and if you know nothing of the dirty protests or this particular period in the history of Irish-English relations, you will have only the vaguest idea of what is happening and why.

    Double Feature: Hunger 2010

  • In January, 1679, a file of burdened men, some thirty in number, toiling slowly on their way over the snowy plains and "through the gloomy forests of spruce and naked oak trees," the priest accompanying with his altar lashed to his back, reached a favorable spot beside calm water several miles above the cataract: the site is identified as situate a little way above the mouth of Cayuga Creek, just outside the village of La Salle, in the State of New York.

    The French in the Heart of America John Finley 1901

  • But let's keep "situate;" it's still on the upswing!

    Words 2005

  • This form, "situate," may be Pater's archaism for situated, or it may simply be a typographic error in the original published edition.

    Plato and Platonism Walter Pater 1866

  • Each of these actions warrants close examination, but first it is important to situate them in historical context and especially in the context of efforts by Republican presidents since Richard Nixon to greatly expand presidential powers.

    The Conservative Assault on the Constitution Erwin Chemerinsky 2010

  • The cloud systems I am interested in exploring acknowledge this legacy but also situate themselves one step closer to an interest in the particles themselves.

    Carla Leitao: Cloud Architecture Carla Leitao 2011

  • The cloud systems I am interested in exploring acknowledge this legacy but also situate themselves one step closer to an interest in the particles themselves.

    Carla Leitao: Cloud Architecture Carla Leitao 2011

  • I press up against the lockers after final bell, waiting for Z to situate things in his backpack and get his lock secured just so.

    Camo Girl Kekla magoon 2011

  • But if we situate its controversial coverage in a general climate of political profiteering and impunity of leaders, then Al Jazeera appears more a network on a mission, not only to report but to restore Arab dignity and replace muzzled politics with a new culture of civil dialogue.

    Nabil Echchaibi: Al Jazeera and the Promise of the Arab Revolution Nabil Echchaibi 2011

  • But if we situate its controversial coverage in a general climate of political profiteering and impunity of leaders, then Al Jazeera appears more a network on a mission, not only to report but to restore Arab dignity and replace muzzled politics with a new culture of civil dialogue.

    Nabil Echchaibi: Al Jazeera and the Promise of the Arab Revolution Nabil Echchaibi 2011

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