functional
Part of speech: adj
noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: computing
computing-theory
engineering
human-sciences
mathematics
medicine
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physiology
psychology
sciences
Etymology: Etymology tree
Old French fonction
Middle French functionbor.
English function
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?
Proto-Italic *-ālis
Latin -ālisbor.
Old French -albor.
▲
Latin -ālis
Old French -elbor.
▲
Latin -ālisbor.
Middle English -al
English -al
English functional
From function + -al.
Inflected forms:
form: more functional
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most functional
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: functionals
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: In good working order.
pos: adj
examples: While we assume that phonological subsyllabic units are functional prior to reading skill, we have not ruled out a possible interaction with the writing system.
gloss: Useful; serving a purpose, fulfilling a function.
pos: adj
examples: That sculpture is not merely artistic, but also functional: it can be used as a hatrack.
The two are often one and the same, says Walt Thompson, professor of kinesiology at Georgia State University and lead author of the ACSM survey – although functional fitness can apply to the younger generation as well.
gloss: Only for functional purposes, notably in architecture.
pos: adj
examples: A functional construction element generally must meet higher technical but lower aesthetical requirements.
gloss: Of or relating to one's role or office; official.
pos: adj
examples: functional responsibilities
gloss: Characterizing functioning in environment, being symptoms that do not presuppose alteration of organic structure.
pos: adj
examples: The clinical differentiation between functional and organic disease is at times difficult to establish, because, presumptively, in the beginning, at least, all organic disease is preceded by a physiologic perversion, that is, functional alteration, which may or may not be apparent with our present diagnostic limitations. […] Though benign rhythmic disturbances, such as premature contractions or paroxysmal tachycardia, do occur, it is notoriously difficult and still the subject of argument whether these may be called functionally benign or whether they may prove to have organic significance. […] The lack of opportunity for the medical student to observe the functional states in the medical school clinics and hospital practice, because of lack of space, or interest in their care in intramural teaching, is, I believe, a most forceful argument for a period of extramural practice under intelligent tutelage.
In our study of participants aged 18–39, increasing age was associated with improved functioning in laundry task and overall social functioning, encompassing prosocial activities, recreation, independence–competence, and employment. […] However, several longitudinal and cross-sectional studies indicate that these improvements tend to plateau by the late twenties, and may decline as individuals transition into middle adulthood (Clarke et al., 2021; Smith et al., 2012; Tomaszewski et al., 2025). These patterns suggest that while functional gains may be observed through early adulthood, they may not be maintained beyond the early thirties. Therefore, longitudinal studies extending into middle and late adulthood are critically needed to clarify how trajectories of activities of daily living and social functioning evolve throughout the lifespan.
gloss: Optimized for all-around physiological benefit.
pos: adj
examples: functional coffee
functional fitness
gloss: Of or relating to a function or functions.
pos: adj
gloss: Having semantics defined purely in terms of mathematical functions, without side-effects.
pos: adj
gloss: A function that takes a function as its argument; more precisely, a function whose argument varies in a space of (real- or complex-valued) functions and whose value belongs to a monodimensional space.
pos: noun
examples: An example of a functional is the definite integration of integrable real functions in a real interval.
gloss: A scalar-valued linear function on a vector space.
pos: noun
gloss: An object encapsulating a function pointer (or equivalent).
pos: noun
Synonyms: functioning
working
utilitarian
functional
in working order
operational
running like a top
up
Antonyms: dysfunctional
non-functional
nonfunctional
unfunctional
organic
out of order
Related words: function
functional anatomy
functional application
functional bombing
functional constraint
functional decomposition
functional dependency
functional design
functional diagram
functional disorder
functional electrical stimulation
functional error recovery
functional failure
functional food
functional genomics
functional group
functional interleaving
functional magnetic resonance imaging
functional MR imaging
functional programming
functional psychology
functional requirement
functional reserve
functional residual capacity
functional root
functional specifications
functional switching circuit
functional unit
functional work
functionary
non-functional requirement
trivial functional dependency
Derived words: afunctional
amphifunctional
anatomofunctional
antifunctional
bifunctional
biofunctional
biofunctionalization
cofunctional
ecofunctional
eigenfunctional
equifunctional
eufunctional
functional beverage
functional constituency
functional drink
functional equivalence
functional graph
functionalise
functionalism
functionalist
functionalistic
functionality
functionalization
functionalize
functional linguistics
functional load
functionally
functional medicine
functional music
functional necrophilia
functional training
functional water
fyborg
heptafunctional
heterofunctional
immunofunctional
interfunctional
malfunctional
monofunctional
multifunctional
neofunctional
neurofunctional
normofunctional
oligofunctional
pentafunctional
plurifunctional
polyfunctional
positive linear functional
prefunctional
sociofunctional
structural-functional
superfunctional
technofunctional
teleofunctional
tetrafunctional
trifunctional
unifunctional
Minkowski functional
functional analysis
functional analysis diagram
linear functional
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