functional

adjective more functional · most functional

1. In good working order. 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.
2. Useful; serving a purpose, fulfilling a function. That sculpture is not merely artistic, but also functional: it can be used as a hatrack.
3. Only for functional purposes, notably in architecture. A functional construction element generally must meet higher technical but lower aesthetical requirements.
4. Of or relating to one's role or office; official. functional responsibilities
5. Characterizing functioning in environment, being symptoms that do not presuppose alteration of organic structure. 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 d
6. Optimized for all-around physiological benefit. functional coffee
7. Of or relating to a function or functions.
8. Having semantics defined purely in terms of mathematical functions, without side-effects.

   Similar: pure · Opposite: imperative

Similar: functioning, working, utilitarian, functional, in working order, operational, running like a top, up · Opposite: dysfunctional, non-functional, nonfunctional, unfunctional, organic, out of order

noun functionals

1. 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. An example of a functional is the definite integration of integrable real functions in a real interval.
2. A scalar-valued linear function on a vector space.
3. An object encapsulating a function pointer (or equivalent).