transactional

[tran-sak-shuh-nuhl, -zak-]

adjective

1. of or relating to the process of conducting business.

   A leading authority on ethical issues in commercial practice, she has designed classes and materials to teach students transactional skills.

2. of or relating to personal or social interaction characterized by mutual influence and exchange.

   The teacher questioned each pair of students in turn about the transactional nature of the role play—how their partner's statements or behavior shaped their own.

3. of or relating to an attitude in which personal interaction revolves around cost and benefit.

   There is a shift toward a more transactional relationship between a synagogue and its congregants, where the focus is often on dues and program fees.

Other Word Forms

• transactionally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of transactional¹

transaction ( def. ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

"The government have the convening power of the King and they have used it in a very transactional way, for example the brandishing of the King's letter in the Oval Office," said one royal source.

From BBC

Bhumjaithai is famously unideological and transactional, and in the past has been allied with conservative, military-backed groups and, more recently, with Pheu Thai.

From BBC

Brown was indicted Wednesday on 21 counts of wire fraud, transactional money laundering and aggravated identity theft.

From Los Angeles Times

The transactional nature of his political philosophy will eventually outweigh his flair for the moment, and I can’t imagine ever voting for someone who seems seconds away from selling me out.

From Slate

Not every interaction between a celebrity and their fan is so unsettling, but there is, typically, a transactional nature to these brief encounters.

From Salon

Related Words

• debatable 
• transferable www.thesaurus.com