institutional

[ in-sti-too-shuh-nl, -tyoo- ]

adjective

1. of or relating to organized establishments, foundations, societies, or the like, or to the buildings they occupy:

   The association offers an institutional membership discount to members of affiliated groups.

2. of the nature of an established organization or institution:

   institutional bureaucracy.

3. relating to or noting a policy, practice, or belief system that has been established as normative or customary throughout an institution or society, particularly as perpetuated in institutions of a public character, as schools, courts, or legislative bodies: institutional sexism in academia;

   institutional racism in the criminal justice system;

   institutional sexism in academia;

   institutional prejudice against members of the gay community.

4. characterized by the blandness, drabness, uniformity, and lack of individualized attention attributed to large institutions that serve many people:

   institutional food.

5. (of advertising) having as the primary object the establishment of goodwill and a favorable reputation rather than the immediate sale of the product.
6. relating to established principles or institutes, especially of jurisprudence.

institutional

/ ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃənəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of institutions
2. dull, routine, and uniform

   institutional meals

3. relating to principles or institutes, esp of law

Derived Forms

• ˌinstiˈtutionally, adverb

Other Words From

• in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly adverb
• an·ti-in·sti·tu·tion·al adjective
• an·ti-in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly adverb
• in·ter·in·sti·tu·tion·al adjective
• in·ter·in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly adverb
• non·in·sti·tu·tion·al adjective
• non·in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly adverb
• un·in·sti·tu·tion·al adjective
• un·in·sti·tu·tion·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of institutional¹

First recorded in 1610–20; institution + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Inclusion would be “important institutionally speaking,” Ives recently told Fortune, as institutional investors have shown increasing interest in the stock in recent months, he says.

From Fortune

Inclusion would be “important institutionally-speaking,” Ives says, as he notes institutional interest in the stock has grown in recent months, and he believes inclusion is now a “matter of when, not if.”

From Fortune

Mutual funds with women behind them post stronger results in 2020, Iowa is a coronavirus hotspot, and institutional investors can wield their power to diversify venture capital funding.

From Fortune

In this Harvard Business Review piece, former CEO of Catalyst Ilene Lang and Carlyle Group chief transformation officer Reggie Van Lee argue that institutional investors have an important role to play in the future of the venture landscape.

From Fortune

It’s really important to be antiracist if you’re going to work against the 400 years of institutional history that has produced our current reality.

From Ozy

For them, the trauma of assault can be compounded by a lack of institutional support, and even disciplinary action.

From The Daily Beast

You might think that the reason Medicaid does not require coverage of HCBS is because institutional care is cheaper.

From The Daily Beast

Poverty, alienation, estrangement, continuously aggravated by racism, overt and institutional.

From The Daily Beast

The upshot is to immerse oneself in a crash course on institutional racism and police brutality.

From The Daily Beast

The waiting room is ill-kempt, but inside its institutional blue and white walls, there is a surprising sense of tranquility.

From The Daily Beast

The alley is well paved and clean, and lined chiefly with the backs of sedate and institutional-looking buildings.

From Project Gutenberg

Poor as we found the village on the material side, it has nevertheless some interesting institutional features.

From Project Gutenberg

And a world state and universal justice does not mean the imprisonment of our race in any bleak institutional orderliness.

From Project Gutenberg

The singers were, of course, hide-bound to the awful translations that were institutional and to them inevitable.

From Project Gutenberg

But the institutional part of that meal was over before the cup was distributed, and the repetition of the act enjoined.

From Project Gutenberg