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behavioral

American  
[bih-heyv-yer-uhl] / bɪˈheɪv jər əl /
especially British, behavioural

adjective

  1. 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.

  2. 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

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.

See Examples For:

The incident came shortly after another behavioral issue involving Nacua that alarmed the Rams.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

Co-author Kartik Shanker, Professor at CES, says the behavioral effects of lethal human activity could have implications for managing conflict between people and wildlife.

From Science Daily Jul. 15, 2026

Humans and chimpanzees split from a common ancestor between six and seven million years ago, and the two species still share many behavioral and genetic traits.

From Science Daily Jul. 15, 2026

This behavioral trait is central to the archipelago’s historical fame.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 13, 2026

"Willow, you've been ordered to come here for behavioral reasons. It's not optional."

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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