fractional

[ frak-shuh-nl ]

adjective

1. pertaining to fractions; comprising a part or the parts of a unit; constituting a fraction:

   fractional numbers.

2. comparatively small; inconsiderable or insignificant:

   The profit on the deal was fractional.

3. Chemistry. of or noting a process, as distillation, crystallization, or oxidation, by which the component substances of a mixture are separated according to differences in certain of their properties, as boiling point, critical temperature, or solubility.

ˈfractional

/ ˈfrækʃənərI; ˈfrækʃənəl /

adjective

1. relating to, containing, or constituting one or more fractions
2. of or denoting a process in which components of a mixture are separated by exploiting differences in their physical properties, such as boiling points, solubility, etc

   fractional distillation

   fractional crystallization

3. very small or insignificant
4. broken up; fragmented

Derived Forms

• ˈfractionally, adverb

Other Words From

• fraction·al·ly adverb
• sub·fraction·al adjective
• sub·fraction·al·ly adverb
• sub·fraction·ary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fractional¹

First recorded in 1665–75; fraction + -al ¹

Example Sentences

One of their earliest products was a milkshake machine called the Cyclone Drink Mixer, and many of their kitchen tools were based on the company’s own inventions, including a high-speed fractional motor.

From Popular-Science

Robinhood is known for fractional shares, but it temporarily blocked people buying fractional shares of Gamestop.

From TechCrunch

The proposal reportedly includes $2,000 stimulus checks, which would buy you a decent fractional share of Bitcoin.

From Fortune

Tenev, meanwhile, notes that buying fractional shares of pricey stocks like Google and Amazon is particularly appealing to this generation.

From Fortune

So to create their algorithm, Oveis Gharan, Saberi and Singh defined a random process that picks a tree connecting all the cities, so that the probability that a given edge is in the tree equals that edge’s fraction in the best fractional route.

From Quanta Magazine

Royalty rates drop to the alarmingly fractional in this new “non-physical” arena.

From The Daily Beast

However, one nascent winner has been the rise of crowdsourced fractional labor.

From The Daily Beast

This camouflage ability underscores a broader issue with fractional regulation of a complex industry.

From The Daily Beast

The difference is due to the less minute calculation of fractional quantities in the latter case.

From Project Gutenberg

There was not a lie in this honest girl—not a fractional part of a lie—from her toes to her head.

From Project Gutenberg

By the process of fractional distillation mineral oils of all grades can be obtained.

From Project Gutenberg

In the fractional second before the others could understand and react Dalgetty was moving.

From Project Gutenberg

The yard-land was only a fractional holding, incomplete for purposes of ploughing without co-operation.

From Project Gutenberg