structural

[ struhk-cher-uhl ]

/ ˈstrʌk tʃər əl /

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See synonyms for structural on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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

resulting from or relating to political or economic structure: structural reforms to the social safety net;structural inequalities;structural racism.

Biology. relating to organic structure; morphological.

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

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

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.

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Origin of structural

First recorded in 1825–35; structure + -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM structural

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

un·struc·tur·al·ly, adverb

Words nearby structural

stroy, Strozzi, struck, struck jury, struck measure, structural, structural anthropology, structural formula, structural functionalism, structural gene, structural geology

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

How to use structural in a sentence

If you find a problem there, you’ll have to make deep structural changes in your content marketing approach.
Content marketing fails: How to analyze and improve|Michael Doer|August 27, 2020|Search Engine Watch
In a report published last week by the Oxford Internet Institute, researchers found that one of the most common traps organizations fall into when implementing algorithms is the belief that they will fix really complex structural issues.
The UK exam debacle reminds us that algorithms can’t fix broken systems|Karen Hao|August 20, 2020|MIT Technology Review
She also wants training for staff on bias and structural racism.
‘Educate, Not Indoctrinate’: Anti-Racism Push in Coronado Schools Fuels Backlash|Ashly McGlone|August 18, 2020|Voice of San Diego
D’Arcy also conceded to New Scientist that there is some concern that the acid treatment might affect the integrity of the bricks, to the extent that they might not be able to make up the main structural components of a building.
Scientists Found a Way to Turn Bricks Into Batteries|Edd Gent|August 17, 2020|Singularity Hub

There’s a lot of data on how structural biology has come into its own in this pandemic.
We Don’t Have to Despair - Issue 88: Love & Sex|Robert Bazell|August 12, 2020|Nautilus
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
But beneath them there are underlying structural issues that will be even harder to fix.
VA Scandal: How a General Lost Command|Jacob Siegel|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As hard as those structural reforms will be, changing the culture may be even harder.
VA Scandal: How a General Lost Command|Jacob Siegel|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some structural features not previously used were found to have taxonomic significance.
Genera and Subgenera of Chipmunks|John A. White
Massinger and Field accepted frankly the structural awkwardness of their plot as they had fashioned or found it.
The Fatal Dowry|Philip Massinger
The structural fault is less surprising when it is ascertained to be fundamentalinevitable in the theme.
The Fatal Dowry|Philip Massinger
Structural wrought iron has a tenacity of 20 to 22 tons per sq. in.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Anatomically we find that we must place man with the apelike mammals, because of these numerous points of structural likeness.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter

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 forms of structural

structurally, 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

structural

Origin of structural

OTHER WORDS FROM structural

Words nearby structural

Words related to structural

How to use structural in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for structural

Derived forms of structural