functional
[fuhngk-shuh-nl]
- of or relating to a function or functions: functional difficulties in the administration.
- capable of operating or functioning: When will the ventilating system be functional again?
- having or serving a utilitarian purpose; capable of serving the purpose for which it was designed: functional architecture; a chair that is functional as well as decorative.
- Also func·tion·al·is·tic. (of a building or furnishing) constructed or made according to the principles of functionalism or primarily as a direct fulfillment of a material need.
- Medicine/Medical. without a known organic cause or structural change: a functional disorder.Compare organic(def 5).
- pertaining to an algebraic operation: a functional symbol.
- Linguistics. (of linguistic analysis, language teaching, etc.) concerned with the communicative role of language rather than, in addition to, or as the framework for its formal structure.
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Origin of functional
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
practical, utilitarian, useful, handy, occupational, operative, practicable, serviceable, utility, utileExamples from the Web for functional
Contemporary Examples
Essentially he is arguing that there are functional trade-offs in developmental biology.
It can lead to all types of cosmetic and functional issues down the road which are difficult if not impossible to reverse.
The captain tried to say all the cameras were functional except for the one in the cabin where the body was found.
To be sure, Functional Medicine or related fields like Lifestyle Medicine may not have all the answers.
Mark Hyman, MD, best-selling author, and current chair of the Institute of Functional Medicine, sees it as anything but quackery.
Historical Examples
But what proportion is there between the structural alteration and the functional result?
What may be the functional importance of either of these structures we know not.
On the Relations of Man to the Lower AnimalsThomas H. Huxley
Hence the functional basis is preferred in all cases in which it can be applied.
The Classification of PatentsUnited States Patent Office
In biology it is more akin to the formal than to the functional attitude.
Form and FunctionE. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
(b) Add limits of functional parts: handle, spout, cover, etc.
Industrial Arts DesignWilliam H. Varnum
functional
- of, involving, or containing a function or functions
- practical rather than decorative; utilitarianfunctional architecture
- capable of functioning; working
- med affecting a function of an organ without structural change
- psychol
- relating to the purpose or context of a behaviour
- denoting a psychosis such as schizophrenia assumed not to have a direct organic cause, like deterioration or poisoning of the brainCompare organic psychosis
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- maths a function whose domain is a set of functions and whose range is a set of functions or a set of numbers
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for functional
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
functional
(fŭngk′shə-nəl)- Of or relating to a function.
- Affecting the physiological function but not the structure.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
functional
[fŭngk′shə-nəl]
- Affecting bodily functions but not organic structure, as a disorder such as irritable bowel syndrome. Compare organic.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.