multifactorial

[ muhl-tee-fak-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-, muhl-tahy- ]

/ ˌmʌl ti fækˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr-, ˌmʌl taɪ- /

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adjective

having or stemming from a number of different causes or influences: Some medical researchers regard cancer as a multifactorial disease.

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Origin of multifactorial

First recorded in 1915–20; multi- + factor + -ial

OTHER WORDS FROM multifactorial

mul·ti·fac·to·ri·al·ly, adverb

Words nearby multifactorial

multidimensional, multidirectional, multidisciplinary, multiethnic, multifaceted, multifactorial, multifactorial inheritance, multifamily, multifarious, multifid, multifilament

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

How to use multifactorial in a sentence

Instead, experts now acknowledge that elite performance is a “multifactorial” phenomenon — meaning that it’s somewhere between extremely complicated and completely unknowable.
Eliud Kipchoge Is the GOAT. What Makes Him So Good?|syadron|August 21, 2021|Outside Online
Prevailing views that people are personally responsible for their weight, despite ample scientific evidence of the complex and multifactorial causes of obesity, are one reason why weight stigma persists.
Weight Stigma Is A Burden Around The World – And Has Negative Consequences Everywhere|LGBTQ-Editor|June 7, 2021|No Straight News
I think not repealing it at this point is probably multifactorial.
The Opioid Tragedy, Part 2: “It’s Not a Death Sentence” (Ep. 403)|Stephen J. Dubner|January 23, 2020|Freakonomics

British Dictionary definitions for multifactorial

multifactorial

/ (ˌmʌltɪfækˈtɔːrɪəl) /

adjective

genetics of or designating inheritance that depends on more than one gene

involving or including a number of elements or factors

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