integral
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or belonging as a part of the whole; constituent or component.
integral parts.
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necessary to the completeness of the whole.
This point is integral to his plan.
- Synonyms:
- requisite, indispensable, essential
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consisting or composed of parts that together constitute a whole.
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entire; complete; whole.
the integral works of a writer.
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Arithmetic. pertaining to or being an integer; not fractional.
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Mathematics. pertaining to or involving integrals.
noun
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integrals
plural
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an integral whole.
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Mathematics.
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Also called Riemann integral. the numerical measure of the area bounded above by the graph of a given function, below by the x -axis, and on the sides by ordinates drawn at the endpoints of a specified interval; the limit, as the norm of partitions of the given interval approaches zero, of the sum of the products of the function evaluated at a point in each subinterval times the length of the subinterval.
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a primitive.
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any of several analogous quantities.
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adjective
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(often foll by to) being an essential part (of); intrinsic (to)
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intact; entire
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formed of constituent parts; united
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maths
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of or involving an integral
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involving or being an integer
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noun
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ʃ. maths the limit of an increasingly large number of increasingly smaller quantities, related to the function that is being integrated (the integrand). The independent variables may be confined within certain limits ( definite integral ) or in the absence of limits ( indefinite integral )
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a complete thing; whole
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of integral
From the Medieval Latin word integrālis, dating back to 1545–55. See integer, -al 1
Explanation
Something that is integral is very important or necessary. If you are an integral part of the team, it means that the team cannot function without you. An integral part is necessary to complete the whole. In this sense, the word essential is a near synonym. In mathematics, there are integrals of functions and equations. Integral is from Middle English, from Medieval Latin integralis "making up a whole," from Latin integer "untouched, entire."
Vocabulary lists containing integral
The Giver
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Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
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Fences
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“You read the story just as you read the comments, which were integral to the story,” Finger says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Youri Tielemans did not start a Premier League game until November 2023 after joining in the summer, but became an integral part of Emery's machine.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
That’s also why, when “Fjord” opens with soft piano chords playing “Amazing Grace,” it’s safe to assume the song will be an integral motif throughout the film.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Dressing on theme can be an integral part of the concert experience for some.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
She answered the phones and distributed the mail in addition to her regular duties, which at the time involved solving a triple integral for an engineer in the division.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
These integrals help determine which excited-state relaxation pathways are favored and steer the system toward efficient triplet energy migration.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Calculations involving proton vibrational wavefunction overlap integrals supported this interpretation.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
For decades, researchers have depended on indirect computational techniques such as molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to estimate configurational integrals.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2026
Even then, the integrals tend to blow up, forcing theorists to employ myriad tricks and techniques to make the problems tractable.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 30, 2022
“Yeah! Susie herself. That robot’s a mathematical wiz. He knows all about everything plus a bit on the side. He does triple integrals in his head and eats up tensor analysis for dessert.”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
