functional

American  

[fuhngk-shuh-nl] / ˈfʌŋk ʃə nl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a function or functions.

   functional difficulties in the administration.

2. capable of operating or functioning.

   When will the ventilating system be functional again?

3. 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.

4. Also functionalistic (of a building or furnishing) constructed or made according to the principles of functionalism or primarily as a direct fulfillment of a material need.

5. Medicine/Medical. without a known organic cause or structural change.

   a functional disorder.

6. pertaining to an algebraic operation.

   a functional symbol.

7. 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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noun

1. Mathematics. a function that has a domain whose elements are functions, sets, or the like, and that assumes numerical values.

functional British  

/ ˈfʌŋkʃənəl /

adjective

1. of, involving, or containing a function or functions

2. practical rather than decorative; utilitarian

   functional architecture

3. capable of functioning; working

4. med affecting a function of an organ without structural change

5. psychol

   1. relating to the purpose or context of a behaviour

   2. denoting a psychosis such as schizophrenia assumed not to have a direct organic cause, like deterioration or poisoning of the brain Compare organic psychosis

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noun

1. maths a function whose domain is a set of functions and whose range is a set of functions or a set of numbers

Other Word Forms

• functionality noun
• functionally adverb
• hyperfunctional adjective
• hyperfunctionally adverb
• multifunctional adjective
• nonfunctional adjective
• nonfunctionally adverb
• prefunctional adjective
• semifunctional adjective
• semifunctionally adverb
• subfunctional adjective
• subfunctionally adverb
• superfunctional adjective
• unfunctional adjective
• unfunctionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of functional

First recorded in 1625–35; function + -al ¹

Example Sentences

As the plastics continued to weather, the researchers observed a rise in oxygen containing functional groups.

From Science Daily

As consumers continue to favor functional beverages that promise energy and performance, this drink category has seen steady growth as other beverage segments struggle with slowing volumes.

From Barron's

To explain why the new catalyst performs so well, the researchers carried out detailed computational studies using density functional theory and microkinetic modeling.

From Science Daily

Other researchers are investigating whether transplanted stem cells could help regrow functional thymus tissue.

From Science Daily

In conventional computing, it is often possible to cleanly separate software from hardware, or a "functional level" from an "implementation level."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• practical
• useful
• utilitarian