dysfunctional
Americanadjective
-
not performing normally, as an organ or structure of the body; malfunctioning.
-
having a malfunctioning part or element.
It is hard to get bills through a dysfunctional congress.
-
behaving or acting outside social norms.
All the siblings in their extremely dysfunctional family lost contact as adults.
adjective
-
med (of an organ or part) not functioning normally
-
(esp of a family) characterized by a breakdown of normal or beneficial relationships between members of the group
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dysfunctional
First recorded in 1910–15; dysfunction ( def. ) + -al 1 ( def. )
Explanation
Dysfunctional describes something that doesn't work the way it should. If you know all the printers at the school computer lab are dysfunctional, it's better to print your book report at home. Dys- means "bad," and function means "proper purpose," so when something's working badly, it's dysfunctional. For example, your toaster that always burns the toast is dysfunctional. The word dysfunctional is often used to describe relationships or even whole families whose ways of relating to one another are mentally harmful or are so complicated that nothing feels easy or natural about them.
Vocabulary lists containing dysfunctional
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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.
The researchers wanted to determine whether applying a senolytic directly to aging skin could clear some of these dysfunctional cells and improve the skin's ability to repair itself after an injury.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
But as in most all dysfunctional family comedies, they will also say kind things after the cruel ones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Thirlwall added her report described "dysfunctional management and governance, a gulf between hospital leadership and clinicians, and failure to understand the fundamentals of safeguarding".
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
"Hacks," the tale of a stand-up comedian trying to revive her career and the dysfunctional millennial assistant who helps her, had led the way for comedies with 24 nominations, compared to 19 for "Widow's Bay."
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
Our relatives regularly went to him for advice on their businesses, rocky marriages, or dysfunctional relationships with their children.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
