fractional

[ frak-shuh-nl ]
See synonyms for: fractionalfractionally on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. pertaining to fractions; comprising a part or the parts of a unit; constituting a fraction: fractional numbers.

  2. comparatively small; inconsiderable or insignificant: The profit on the deal was fractional.

  1. Chemistry. of or noting a process, as distillation, crystallization, or oxidation, by which the component substances of a mixture are separated according to differences in certain of their properties, as boiling point, critical temperature, or solubility.

Origin of fractional

1
First recorded in 1665–75; fraction + -al1
  • Also frac·tion·ar·y [frak-shuh-ner-ee]. /ˈfræk ʃəˌnɛr i/.

Other words from fractional

  • frac·tion·al·ly, adverb
  • sub·frac·tion·al, adjective
  • sub·frac·tion·al·ly, adverb
  • sub·frac·tion·ar·y, adjective

Words that may be confused with fractional

Words Nearby fractional

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fractional in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fractional

fractional

fractionary (ˈfrækʃənərI)

/ (ˈfrækʃənəl) /


adjective
  1. relating to, containing, or constituting one or more fractions

  2. of or denoting a process in which components of a mixture are separated by exploiting differences in their physical properties, such as boiling points, solubility, etc: fractional distillation; fractional crystallization

  1. very small or insignificant

  2. broken up; fragmented

Derived forms of fractional

  • fractionally, adverb

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