- Functional
- Functional Func"tion*al (f[u^][ng]k"sh[u^]n*al), a.
1. Pertaining to, or connected with, a function or duty;
official.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Pathology, Physiol.) Pertaining to the function of an organ or part, or to the functions in general; involving or affecting function rather than physiology; as, functional deafness; a functional disease. See {functional disease}, below. [WordNet sense 2] [1913 Webster]
3. Designed for or capable of a particular function or use; as, a style of writing in which every word is functional; functional architecture. [WordNet sense 1] [WordNet 1.6]
4. Fit or ready for use or service; useable; in working order; as, the toaster was still functional even after being dropped; the lawnmower is a bit rusty but still functional. Antonym of {out of order} and {nonfunctional}. [WordNet sense 4 & 6]
Syn: usable, useable, in working order(predicate), operable, operational, running(prenominal), operative. [WordNet 1.6]
5. Designed to emphasize practical utility rather than artistic or aesthetic purposes; as, functional education selects knowledge that is concrete and usable rather than abstract and theoretical; functional architecture; an amateurish device, crude but functional. [WordNet 1.6]
{Functional disease} (Med.), a disease of which the symptoms cannot be referred to any appreciable lesion or change of structure; the derangement of an organ arising from a cause, often unknown, external to itself opposed to {organic disease}, in which the organ itself is affected. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
