practicality

American  

[prak-ti-kal-i-tee] / ˌpræk tɪˈkæl ɪ ti /

Rarely practicalness

noun

practicalities plural

1. the quality of being adapted or designed for actual use; usefulness or convenience.

   Your home furniture choices should be based on practicality, durability, and beauty.

2. interest in or inclination toward actual work or activity as opposed to theories or ideas.

   My mother was an entrepreneur whose tremendous vision, teamed with her practicality, “moved mountains.”

3. a detail or consideration involved in putting something into action.

   She talked with culinary students about their dreams as well as the practicalities of launching a food business.

4. the constraints or demands of real life or actual implementation.

   Economy and practicality dictate that we can't save every green space from development.

5. the quality or fact of relating to actual activity, especially ordinary or everyday activity.

   I appreciate the real-world practicality of the question, “What does it mean to be a father?”

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpracticality
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• practicalities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of practicality

practical ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Explanation

Something that demonstrates practicality makes good sense. If you choose your new shoes based on their practicality, you'll probably buy a pair of sneakers, rather than knee-high boots with five inch heels. A person's practicality can also be called common sense, and an object or action's practicality has to do with how efficient or suitable it is. The practicality of doctors carefully washing their hands before surgery is clear, while the practicality of dressing your dog in a ballerina costume is less so. The root of practicality is practical, which in turn comes from the Old French word practique, "fit for action."

Example Sentences

Practicality shapes his approach as much as nostalgia.

From Salon • Dec. 14, 2025

Practicality like that might not seem like a major concern in laidback Los Angeles, but L.A. is a city of doers; people who have things to do.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2022

Practicality is not really the Vatican’s thing, but the dramatic flair of a billowing cape definitely is.

From Slate • May 29, 2021

“We will need technologies like carbon capture and storage, for instance, to deal with emissions that are very difficult to eliminate any other way. Practicality is much more important to me than ideological purity.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 15, 2020

Practicality and common sense became pillars of his religious faith.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

• common-sense