institutional

[in-sti-too-shuh-nl, -tyoo-]

adjective

1. of or relating to organized establishments, foundations, societies, or the like, or to the buildings they occupy.

   The association offers an institutional membership discount to members of affiliated groups.

2. of the nature of an established organization or institution.

   institutional bureaucracy.

3. relating to or noting a policy, practice, or belief system that has been established as normative or customary throughout an institution or society, particularly as perpetuated in institutions of a public character, as schools, courts, or legislative bodies: institutional sexism in academia;

   institutional racism in the criminal justice system;

   institutional sexism in academia;

   institutional prejudice against members of the gay community.

4. characterized by the blandness, drabness, uniformity, and lack of individualized attention attributed to large institutions that serve many people.

   institutional food.

5. (of advertising) having as the primary object the establishment of goodwill and a favorable reputation rather than the immediate sale of the product.

6. relating to established principles or institutes, especially of jurisprudence.

institutional

/ ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃənəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of institutions

2. dull, routine, and uniform

   institutional meals

3. relating to principles or institutes, esp of law

Other Word Forms

• institutionally adverb
• anti-institutional adjective
• anti-institutionally adverb
• interinstitutional adjective
• interinstitutionally adverb
• noninstitutional adjective
• noninstitutionally adverb
• uninstitutional adjective
• uninstitutionally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of institutional¹

First recorded in 1610–20; institution + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Even as institutional expertise dooms the victim, it empowers the murderer, who has created a seemingly impenetrable alibi by taking advantage of the record-keeping intrinsic to large organizations.

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“Many academics believe that the passive share is far higher because many institutional investors are ‘closet indexers.’

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The city doesn’t have the finances, institutional knowledge or equipment to rapidly respond to catastrophic disasters like the tornado that struck in May, which the city estimates caused $1.6 billion in damage.

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A recent Bloomberg report highlighted concerns for the private-equity industry, saying: “Many institutional investors concede that their expectations from private equity investments are muted for the next decade.”

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Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon defended the process, saying the surge in autism had occurred under the watch of institutional CDC scientists.

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