Dictionary Definition
functional adj
1 designed for or capable of a particular
function or use; "a style of writing in which every word is
functional"; "functional architecture" [ant: nonfunctional]
2 involving or affecting function rather than
physiology; "functional deafness" [ant: organic]
3 relating to or based on function especially as
opposed to structure; "the problem now is not a constitutional one;
it is a functional one"; "delegates elected on a functional rather
than a geographical basis"
4 fit or ready for use or service; "the toaster
was still functional even after being dropped"; "the lawnmower is a
bit rusty but still usable"; "an operational aircraft"; "the
dishwasher is now in working order" [syn: usable, useable, in
working order(p), operable, operational]
5 designed for or adapted to a function or use;
"functional education selects knowledge that is concrete and usable
rather than abstract and theoretical"; "functional
architecture"
6 (of e.g. a machine) performing or capable of
performing; "in running (or working) order"; "a functional set of
brakes" [syn: running(a),
operative, working(a)]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
Adjective
- In good working order.
- Useful; serving a purpose
- That sculpture is not merely artistic, but also functional. It can be used as a hatrack.
- Having semantics defined purely in terms of mathematical functions, without side-effects.
Antonyms
Derived terms
rel-top Derived terms- function
- functional analysis
- functional analysis diagram
- functional anatomy
- functional application
- functional bombing
- functional constraint
- functional decomposition
- functional design
- functional diagram
- functional disorder
- functional electrical stimulation
- functional error recovery
- functional failure
- functional group
- functional interleaving
- functional programming
- functional requirement
- functional residual capacity
- functional specifications
- functional switching circuit
- functional unit
- functionality
- functionally
Translations
in good working order
- Czech: funkční
- Finnish: toimiva
- German: funktional, Funktions-, funktionell, Gebrauchs-, operativ
- Greek: λειτουργικός (lightorghikós)
- Italian: funzionante
- Portuguese: funcional
- Russian: функционирующий (funkcioníruyuš'ij), действующий (d'éjstvuyuš'ij), рабочий (rabóčij)
- Swedish: fungerande
useful, serving a purpose
- Finnish: käytännöllinen
- German: funktional, Funktions-, funktionell, Gebrauchs-, zweckmäßig
- Italian: funzionale
- Japanese: (, benrina)
- Portuguese: funcional
- Russian: функциональный (funkcionál'nyj)
- Swedish: funktionell
Having semantics defined purely in terms of
mathematical functions, without side-effects
- Czech: funkcionální
- German: funktional, funktions-, funktionell
- Italian: funzionale
- Russian: функциональный (funkcionál'nyj)
- ttbc Chinese: 功能
- ttbc Dutch: functionele
- ttbc French: fonctionnel m, fonctionnelle f
- ttbc Spanish: funcional m/f
Noun
- A function that takes a function as its argument; More precisely: A function y=f(x) whose argument x varies in a space of (real valued, complex valued) functions and whose value belongs to a monodimensional space. An example: the definite integration of integrable real functions in a real interval.
Translations
- Italian: funzionale
- Russian: функционал (funkcionál)
- Swedish: funktional
Extensive Definition
Generally, functional refers to something able to
fulfill its purpose or
function.
- Functional form and functionalism (architecture) apply to architectural design.
- Functional (mathematics) is a term applied to certain scalar-valued functions in mathematics, computer science, and Lagrangian mechanics.
- Functional (ontology) refers to a property or relation in an ontology that can only hold a single value for a given individual.
- Functional programming is used in computer science as well.
- Functional symptom is sometimes used in medicine to describe symptoms that have no current visible organic basis, e.g. if they are a result of psychological or perceptual dysfunction. Historically, functional symptoms tend to be reclassified as organic as investigative techniques improve.
- Functional group in organic chemistry (for example, "This compound has two carbonyl functions").
- Functional classification is a term used in the United States for class of road.
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
acting,
active, adjectival, advantageous, adverbial, agential, agentival, agentive, appropriate, at work,
attributive,
banausic, behavioral, beneficial, commodious, conjunctive, copulative, correct, effective, effectual, efficacious, efficient, employable, essential, expedient, fitting, formal, functioning, glossematic, go, going, going on, good for,
grammatic, handy, helpful, important, in exercise, in
force, in hand, in operation, in play, in practice, in process, in
the works, inaction,
industrial, intransitive, linking, managerial, manipulational, neuropsychiatric,
nominal, of general
utility, of help, of service, of use, official, on foot, on the fire,
ongoing, operating, operational, operative, participial, performing, postpositional, practicable, practical, practicing, pragmatical, prepositional, pro, professional, pronominal, proper, psychiatric, psychobiological,
psychodynamic,
psychogenic,
psychological,
psychoneurological,
psychopathic,
psychopathological,
psychophysical,
psychophysiological,
psychosexual,
psychosocial,
psychosomatic,
psychotic, running, serviceable, serving, structural, substantive, syntactic, tagmemic, technical, transitive, useful, utilitarian, verbal, vocational, working