adjective
- of or relating to a function or functions: functional difficulties in the administration.
- capable of operating or functioning: When will the ventilating system be functional again?
- 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.
- Also func·tion·al·is·tic. (of a building or furnishing) constructed or made according to the principles of functionalism or primarily as a direct fulfillment of a material need.
- Medicine/Medical. without a known organic cause or structural change: a functional disorder.Compare organic(def 5).
- pertaining to an algebraic operation: a functional symbol.
- 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
- Mathematics. a function that has a domain whose elements are functions, sets, or the like, and that assumes numerical values.
adjective
- of, involving, or containing a function or functions
- practical rather than decorative; utilitarianfunctional architecture
- capable of functioning; working
- med affecting a function of an organ without structural change
- psychol
- relating to the purpose or context of a behaviour
- denoting a psychosis such as schizophrenia assumed not to have a direct organic cause, like deterioration or poisoning of the brainCompare organic psychosis
noun
- maths a function whose domain is a set of functions and whose range is a set of functions or a set of numbers
adj.1630s; as a term in architecture, “utilitarian,” 1928; see function (n.) + -al (1). Related: Functionally; functionality. adj.
- Of or relating to a function.
- Affecting the physiological function but not the structure.
- Affecting bodily functions but not organic structure, as a disorder such as irritable bowel syndrome. Compare organic.