with strings attached

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conditional adj.
provisory adj.

ADJECTIVE

conditional

Synonyms

STRONGEST

limited provisional restrictive tentative

WEAK

codicillary contingent depending on fortuitous granted on certain terms guarded iffy incidental inconclusive modified not absolute obscure provisory qualified relative reliant relying on restricted subject to uncertain with grain of salt with reservations

Antonyms

STRONGEST

certain definite

WEAK

independent unconditional unlimited unqualified unrestricted

ADJECTIVE

provisory

Synonyms

WEAK

codicillary contingent depending on fortuitous granted on certain terms guarded iffy incidental inconclusive limited modified not absolute obscure provisional qualified relative reliant relying on restricted restrictive subject to tentative uncertain with grain of salt with reservations

Example Sentences

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with strings attached

There is an argument for giving gifts with strings attached — mainly, if you don’t like the strings, don’t accept the gift.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

Most big companies pay their CEOs primarily in stock options or restricted stock, often with strings attached: They receive fewer shares if the company does poorly over time—or more, if it succeeds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Yet the money almost always came with strings attached, leaving survivors and recovery workers maneuvering to match the funding with actual needs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025

And even those agreements came with strings attached.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2025

All these years he’d wanted friends, and now he discovered they came with strings attached.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

with strings attached

Example Sentences

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