practicality

Rarely prac·ti·cal·ness

[prak-ti-kal-i-tee]

noun

plural

practicalities 

1. the quality of being adapted or designed for actual use; usefulness or convenience.

   Your home furniture choices should be based on practicality, durability, and beauty.

2. interest in or inclination toward actual work or activity as opposed to theories or ideas.

   My mother was an entrepreneur whose tremendous vision, teamed with her practicality, “moved mountains.”

3. a detail or consideration involved in putting something into action.

   She talked with culinary students about their dreams as well as the practicalities of launching a food business.

4. the constraints or demands of real life or actual implementation.

   Economy and practicality dictate that we can't save every green space from development.

5. the quality or fact of relating to actual activity, especially ordinary or everyday activity.

   I appreciate the real-world practicality of the question, “What does it mean to be a father?”

Other Word Forms

• nonpracticality noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of practicality¹

practical ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

There is no tree on stage: When they discuss, with deadpan practicality, the possibility of hanging themselves, they peer into the audience.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The practicalities of the scheme will be subject to a consultation, which will also look at how to make it work for those without a smartphone or passport.

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Paul recalled the intense social media speculation that followed as well as the struggle to navigate the practicalities of dealing with a death in a foreign country.

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For weeknight practicality, a cheese sauce is your shortcut — the kind that clings to each fry like it was made just for it.

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But practicalities – and precedent – both suggest this could turn out to be a drawn-out process.

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Related Words

• common-sense