institutional

[in-sti-too-shuh-nl, -tyoo-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR institutional ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, relating to, or established by institution.

of or relating to organized establishments, foundations, societies, or the like, or to the buildings devoted to their work.

of the nature of an institution.

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

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

pertaining to institutes or principles, especially of jurisprudence.

Origin of institutional

First recorded in 1610–20; institution + -al¹

Related formsin·sti·tu·tion·al·ly, adverban·ti-in·sti·tu·tion·al, adjectivean·ti-in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly, adverbin·ter·in·sti·tu·tion·al, adjectivein·ter·in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly, adverbnon·in·sti·tu·tion·al, adjectivenon·in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly, adverbun·in·sti·tu·tion·al, adjectiveun·in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for institutional

uninteresting, corporate, governmental, elementary, rudimentary, bromidic, banal, depressing, dreary, dry, dull, humdrum, insipid, monotonous, prosaic, pedestrian, jejune

Examples from the Web for institutional

Contemporary Examples of institutional

For them, the trauma of assault can be compounded by a lack of institutional support, and even disciplinary action.
Jameis Winston Cleared of Rape Like Every Other College Sports Star
Robert Silverman
December 22, 2014
You might think that the reason Medicaid does not require coverage of HCBS is because institutional care is cheaper.
Medicaid Will Give You Money for At-Home Care, but You Might Wait Years
Elizabeth Picciuto
December 2, 2014
Poverty, alienation, estrangement, continuously aggravated by racism, overt and institutional.
‘Why Have I Lost Control?’: Cory Booker in ’92 on Rodney King Echoes Ferguson
Cory Booker
November 26, 2014
The upshot is to immerse oneself in a crash course on institutional racism and police brutality.
The War on Drugs Is What Makes Thugs
John McWhorter
August 21, 2014
The waiting room is ill-kempt, but inside its institutional blue and white walls, there is a surprising sense of tranquility.
Power Shortages Hit Gaza Maternity Ward
Jesse Rosenfeld
July 24, 2014

Historical Examples of institutional

It is not science which is undermining the future of institutional religion.
Mountain Meditations
L. Lind-af-Hageby
In speaking he would have been constitutional, in holding his tongue he was institutional.
The Cult of Incompetence
Emile Faguet
It is not possible to make of every rural church an institutional church.
Chapters in Rural Progress
Kenyon L. Butterfield
The gay little warblers are not institutional to that degree.
Birds and All Nature, Vol. V, No. 4, April 1899
Various
No institutional work can take the place of work of this kind.
Dixie After the War
Myrta Lockett Avary

British Dictionary definitions for institutional

institutional

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of institutions

dull, routine, and uniforminstitutional meals

relating to principles or institutes, esp of law

Derived Formsinstitutionally, 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

Word Origin and History for institutional

adj.

1610s, from institution + -al (1).