factorial.

1. Relating to an experimental design that combines levels of more than one factor to examine their effects.

2. The product of a nonnegative integer and all smaller positive integers; zero factorial is defined as one.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• factorial design
• factorial experiment

On the page

The factorial design examined both treatment type and exposure duration.

A factorial experiment allowed the team to test whether the factors interacted.

Usage notes

Primary category: science / research / methodology. Forms: Relational or technical adjective; ordinary comparative and superlative generally not applicable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: methodology, measurement, causation, evaluation. Disciplines: research, statistics, scientific reasoning. Commonness: uncommon.