behavioral
Americanadjective
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relating to a person’s manner of behaving or acting.
The program provides academic and behavioral supports for students of concern.
Most of our biggest health risks are largely preventable with behavioral change.
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Psychology, Animal Behavior. relating to or studying observable activity in a human or animal, often thought of as the aggregate of responses to external and internal stimuli.
This psychiatry textbook offers a thorough discussion of both the behavioral sciences and clinical psychiatry.
Harassment of wild marine mammals has disrupted their behavioral patterns, including migration, breeding, and feeding.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of behavioral
First recorded in 1925–30; behavior ( def. ) + -al 1 ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing behavioral
Evolutionary Biology - Natural Selection - Middle School
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Evolutionary Biology - Adaptation
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Evolutionary Biology - Natural Selection - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meanwhile, California has poured billions into behavioral services in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
The researchers concluded that these findings point to disruptions in frontal-subcortical circuits involved in behavioral control.
From Science Daily • May 10, 2026
The National Security Agency also developed a behavioral profiling program, SKYNET, to identify Al Qaeda couriers in Afghanistan.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
"Our goal is not only to hold individuals accountable, but to support long-term behavioral change through treatment and rehabilitation," he said in a statement.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
His name and work would become increasingly appreciated as neuroscientists delved beyond behavioral studies and looked at the physical structures of the brain.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
