functional.

1. Working or capable of serving the relevant intended purpose.

2. Concerned with the role, use or purpose of something rather than merely its form.

3. Concerned with how an organ or system works rather than an identified structural alteration.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• functional equipment
• functional arrangement

On the page

The equipment was functional despite its worn exterior.

The arrangement remained functional, though several tasks took longer than necessary.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Comparative more functional; superlative most functional where gradation is meaningful. 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: definition, institutional analysis, scope assessment, comparison. Disciplines: academic writing, institutional analysis, conceptual explanation. Commonness: moderately common.