institutional

American  

[in-sti-too-shuh-nl, -tyoo-] / ˌɪn stɪˈtu ʃə nl, -ˈtju- /

adjective

1. of or relating to organized establishments, foundations, societies, or the like, or to the buildings they occupy.

   The association offers an institutional membership discount to members of affiliated groups.

2. of the nature of an established organization or institution.

   institutional bureaucracy.

3. relating to or noting a policy, practice, or belief system that has been established as normative or customary throughout an institution or society, particularly as perpetuated in institutions of a public character, as schools, courts, or legislative bodies: institutional sexism in academia;

   institutional racism in the criminal justice system;

   institutional sexism in academia;

   institutional prejudice against members of the gay community.

4. characterized by the blandness, drabness, uniformity, and lack of individualized attention attributed to large institutions that serve many people.

   institutional food.

5. (of advertising) having as the primary object the establishment of goodwill and a favorable reputation rather than the immediate sale of the product.

6. relating to established principles or institutes, especially of jurisprudence.

---

institutional British  

/ ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃənəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of institutions

2. dull, routine, and uniform

   institutional meals

3. relating to principles or institutes, esp of law

---

Other Word Forms

• anti-institutional
  adjective
• interinstitutional
  adjective
• noninstitutional
  adjective
• uninstitutional
  adjective
• anti-institutionally
  adverb
• institutionally
  adverb
• interinstitutionally
  adverb
• noninstitutionally
  adverb
• uninstitutionally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of institutional

First recorded in 1610–20; institution + -al ¹

Explanation

Something institutional is what you'd expect from a big entity like a college or corporation, such as the institutional cinder-block dorm room walls or the institutional policy of giving employees 10 sick days per year. Accent the third syllable in institutional: "in-stih-TOO-shun-ul." The word institutional can be used to describe something related to an organization or a corporation, like institutional reform or institutional policies. Something that's institutional is often thought of as bland or boring, like the institutional food served to hospital patients. Institutional things often share, for better or worse, a certain sameness.

Example Sentences

Many institutional investors say the apparent disconnect between Japan’s economic fundamentals and the yen’s persistent weakness complicates portfolio steering.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

"The ball is now in the FCC's court," the ESO's institutional affairs officer Betty Kioko said in a statement.

From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026

“The traditional work world doesn’t work for many people. Older adults get judged. So many people are done with corporate and institutional bureaucracy,” Vanderburg said.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 1, 2026

From an institutional perspective, the American theater is in bad shape.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026

Remarkably, several former juvenile lifers had developed outstanding institutional histories with very few disciplinaries, even though they did their time with no hope of ever being released or having their institutional history reviewed.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson