functional
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a function or functions.
functional difficulties in the administration.
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capable of operating or functioning.
When will the ventilating system be functional again?
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having or serving a utilitarian purpose; capable of serving the purpose for which it was designed.
functional architecture; a chair that is functional as well as decorative.
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Also functionalistic (of a building or furnishing) constructed or made according to the principles of functionalism or primarily as a direct fulfillment of a material need.
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Medicine/Medical. without a known organic cause or structural change.
a functional disorder.
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pertaining to an algebraic operation.
a functional symbol.
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Linguistics. (of linguistic analysis, language teaching, etc.) concerned with the communicative role of language rather than, in addition to, or as the framework for its formal structure.
noun
adjective
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of, involving, or containing a function or functions
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practical rather than decorative; utilitarian
functional architecture
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capable of functioning; working
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med affecting a function of an organ without structural change
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psychol
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relating to the purpose or context of a behaviour
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denoting a psychosis such as schizophrenia assumed not to have a direct organic cause, like deterioration or poisoning of the brain Compare organic psychosis
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noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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semifunctionaladjective
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nonfunctionaladjective
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nonfunctionallyadverb
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multifunctionaladjective
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functionalitynoun
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functionallyadverb
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hyperfunctionaladjective
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superfunctionaladjective
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unfunctionallyadverb
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prefunctionaladjective
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subfunctionaladjective
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unfunctionaladjective
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subfunctionallyadverb
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hyperfunctionallyadverb
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semifunctionallyadverb
Etymology
Origin of functional
Explanation
Use the adjective functional to describe something that is made to do a specific job, such as the functional alarm clock feature on a digital stopwatch. The word functional comes from the Latin word functionem, meaning "performance, execution." It can also describe whether something is working properly. This is what shoppers at a garage sale want to be sure of before they leave with an old television — they plug it in to make sure it's functional. In this case the opposite of functional is useless.
Vocabulary lists containing functional
Freak the Mighty
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Unit 3: Cellular Systems
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Catching Fire
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The findings highlight the value of combining genetic testing with functional studies of how genes operate inside cells.
From Science Daily • Jun. 13, 2026
John Barrett, for Filco and Co-op supermarkets, said the proposed Lidl would be "out-of-centre" and change the "functional visual role of the site" irreversibly.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
To conduct the study, the team examined functional brain connectivity in 20 different mouse models and analyzed brain scans from 940 children and young adults with autism.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
Voters are “hungry for a different future for this city — one that is affordable, functional, creative, and safe,” Raman said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
They’d also take fMRI, functional MRI images—so-called real-time MRI— which would measure blood flow changes as Reggie engaged in different behaviors.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
