structural

[ struhk-cher-uh l ]

/ ˈstrʌk tʃər əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR structural ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to structure; pertaining or essential to a structure.

Biology. pertaining to organic structure; morphological.

Geology. of or relating to geological structure, as of rock or strata.

Chemistry. pertaining to or showing the arrangement or mode of attachment of the atoms that constitute a molecule of a substance.Compare structural formula.

resulting from or pertaining to political or economic structure.

of, relating to, or based on the assumption that the elements of a field of study are naturally arranged in a systematic structure: structural grammar.

noun

Building Trades.

a part of a structure that carries a load.
the structural member used for such a part.

Nearby words

Origin of structural

First recorded in 1825–35; structure + -al¹

Related forms

struc·tur·al·ly, adverbnon·struc·tur·al, adjectivenon·struc·tur·al·ly, adverbun·struc·tur·al, adjective

un·struc·tur·al·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for structural

Nor do these studies address the structural and systematic issues that contribute to obesity, such as poverty and stress.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Common sense is not a just a normative judgment about wisdom, but a structural feature of any functioning organization.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sadly, the end of the Cold War has given license to structural decay.
Stock Market America and the Rest of Us|Lloyd Green|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the structural level, I was impressed with the variety and range of oversight mechanisms in place.
Here’s Who Should Watch the Watchmen|Geoffrey R. Stone|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

How do structural brain changes correlate with emotional and behavioral symptoms?
Study Says Half of Jailed NYC Teens Have History of Brain Injury|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Functional and structural troubles of the stomach are certainly very intimately associated.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II|Various
The capillitium, however, in its structural details and habit of growth, is widely different.
The North American Slime-Moulds|Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride
The pronephros is distinguished from the mesonephros by developmental as well as structural features.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume III (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour
The late fifteenth-century Gothic additions consist of pinnacles and gables of no structural value.
Venice and its Story|Thomas Okey
This kind of steel is used for structural purposes, for rails, and for nearly all large steel articles.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry|William McPherson

British Dictionary definitions for structural

structural

/ (ˈstrʌktʃərəl) /

adjective

of, relating to, or having structure or a structure

of, relating to, or forming part of the structure of a building

of or relating to the structure and deformation of rocks and other features of the earth's crust

of or relating to the structure of organisms; morphological

chem of, concerned with, caused by, or involving the arrangement of atoms in molecules

Derived Formsstructurally, 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 structural

structural

adj.

1835, from structure + -al (1). Related: Structurally.

structural

adjective

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of structural

Examples from the Web for structural

British Dictionary definitions for structural

structural

adjective

Word Origin and History for structural

structural