English

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Etymology

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From function +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈfʌŋkt͡ʃənəl/, /ˈfʌŋkt͡ʃnəl/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

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functional (comparative more functional, superlative most functional)

  1. In good working order.
  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. (mathematics) Of or relating to a function or functions.
  6. (computing theory) Having semantics defined purely in terms of mathematical functions, without side-effects.
    Synonym: pure
    Antonym: imperative
  7. (medicine) Of a disease, such that its symptoms cannot be referred to any appreciable lesion or change of structure; opposed to organic disease, in which the organ itself is affected.

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Antonyms

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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functional (plural functionals)

  1. (mathematics) 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. (mathematics, functional analysis) A scalar-valued linear function on a vector space.
  3. (computing) An object encapsulating a function pointer (or equivalent).

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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Further reading

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