functional

[ fuhngk-shuh-nl ]

/ ˈfʌŋk ʃə nl /

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See synonyms for: functional / functionality on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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.

noun

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

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Origin of functional

First recorded in 1625–35; function + -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM functional

func·tion·al·i·ty, nounfunc·tion·al·ly, adverbhy·per·func·tion·al, adjectivehy·per·func·tion·al·ly, adverb

mul·ti·func·tion·al, adjectivenon·func·tion·al, adjectivenon·func·tion·al·ly, adverbpre·func·tion·al, adjectivesem·i·func·tion·al, adjectivesem·i·func·tion·al·ly, adverbsub·func·tion·al, adjectivesub·func·tion·al·ly, adverbsu·per·func·tion·al, adjectiveun·func·tion·al, adjectiveun·func·tion·al·ly, adverb

Words nearby functional

funambulist, fun and games, Funchal, function, functionable, functional, functional analysis, functional calculus, functional disease, functional food, functional group

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use functional in a sentence

It enabled customers to tap into these base services like encryption, workflow and metadata and build their own customizations or even fully functional applications by taking advantage of the tools that Box has already built.
Box benefits from digital transformation as it raises its growth forecast|Ron Miller|August 27, 2020|TechCrunch
Instead, the researchers think elite controllers’ immune systems eliminated cells producing functional virus, leaving behind only broken copies of the virus and intact versions locked in heterochromatin.
In a first, a person’s immune system fought HIV — and won|Tina Hesman Saey|August 26, 2020|Science News
The collaboration with Dixon produced modular, multi-functional Delaktig sofa that was a shout-out to the burgeoning community of IKEA hackers who find ever more ingenious ways of reconfiguring standard IKEA products into completely novel pieces.
Ikea promises ‘democratic’ design. Has its Virgil Abloh collaboration lived up?|claychandler|August 25, 2020|Fortune
Fabrika Hostel used to be a Soviet era sewing factory, which the group converted into a design-centric multi-functional space with one of the biggest hostels in the region.
A Pandemic Tourism Pivot From Cool to Wellness|Dan Peleschuk|August 11, 2020|Ozy

Maps that draw out functional connections between those cells.
These Scientists Just Completed a 3D ‘Google Earth’ for the Brain|Shelly Fan|August 5, 2020|Singularity Hub
“Southland was an incredibly functional show where everyone wanted to be there,” says McKenzie.
Ben McKenzie’s Journey From Reluctant Teen Idol on ‘The O.C.’ to Sheriff of ‘Gotham’|Marlow Stern|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As with Xerox copier, 3-D printers have become smaller, cheaper, and more functional over time.
Pioneers in Printing|The Daily Beast|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Essentially he is arguing that there are functional trade-offs in developmental biology.
Why Aristotle Deserves A Posthumous Nobel|Nick Romeo|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It can lead to all types of cosmetic and functional issues down the road which are difficult if not impossible to reverse.
Beware the Designer Vagina|Lizzie Crocker|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some people with disabilities can be highly functional, so their inclusion in the community is not an act of moral decency.
Living With Disability in the Dark Ages|Elizabeth Picciuto|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is low in chronic interstitial nephritis, diabetes insipidus, and many functional nervous disorders.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
An estimation of the solids, therefore, furnishes an important clue to the functional efficiency of the kidneys.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
It is an important point in diagnosis between functional and organic conditions.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
P3 in specimens of old adult Eutamias, shows wear, thus suggesting that P3 is functional in older chipmunks.
Genera and Subgenera of Chipmunks|John A. White
Besides mania or melancholia, there is a third form of functional mental disease, which is a combination of these two forms.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley

British Dictionary definitions for functional

functional

/ (ˈfʌŋkʃənəl) /

adjective

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

noun

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

Derived forms of functional

functionally, adverb

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