dysfunctional

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adjective

Not performing its proper or intended function.

“Never trust in the partly unscrupulous and partly dysfunctional state apparatus.”

Less commonScrabble 22

Meanings

adjectivedysfunctional (comparative more dysfunctional, superlative most dysfunctional)

comparative more dysfunctional · superlative most dysfunctional

  1. Not performing its proper or intended function.

    Antonyms: operational

  2. Functioning incorrectly or abnormally; especially, designating of a business, family or social group with harmful, aberrant, strange or abnormal behavior.

    Never trust in the partly unscrupulous and partly dysfunctional state apparatus.

    3 more examples

    Live dysfunctional, likely die dysfunctional; live eufunctional, likely die eufunctional.

    A former chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces said that Netanyahu should “resign now”, while a former intelligence official described the government as “dysfunctional”.

    2023 October 22, Ruth Michaelson, “Netanyahu told to ‘quit now’ as ex-leaders pin blame on dysfunctional government”, in The Observer, →ISSN

    It is difficult to find the right words for what has happened in the five years since the May 2018 timetable changes exposed the very dysfunctional nature of the franchise system set up by the privatisation process of the 1990s.

    2024 March 20, Christian Wolmar, “NAO report highlights lack of clarity and purpose”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 34

    Antonyms: eufunctional, functional, cooperative

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveNot performing its proper or intended function.

Opposite

adjectiveFunctioning incorrectly or abnormally; especially, designating of a business, family or social group with harmful, aberrant, strange or abnormal behavior.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveimpaired in function; especially of a bodily system or organ

Similar

adjective(of a trait or condition) failing to serve an adjustive purpose

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dews-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dus-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*dus-
  4. Ancient Greekδυσ- (dus-)
  5. New Latindys-
  6. Englishdys-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*bʰewg-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*bʰunégti
  9. Proto-Italic*fungōr
  10. Latinfungor
  11. Latinfūnctiō
  12. Old Frenchfonction
  13. Middle Frenchfunction
  14. Englishfunction
  15. Englishdysfunction
  16. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  17. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  18. Englishdysfunctional

From dysfunction + -al.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan disfuncional, disfuncional
  • disfuncionalnot performing properly
  • disfuncionalfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Danish dysfunktionel
  • dysfunktionelfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Dutch disfunctioneel
  • disfunctioneelfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Finnish vajaakuntoinen, toimimaton
  • vajaakuntoinennot performing properly
  • toimimatonnot performing properly
  • rikkinäinenfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
  • dysfunktionaalinenfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
French dysfonctionnel, dysfonctionnel
  • dysfonctionnelnot performing properly
  • dysfonctionnelfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
German dysfunktional
  • dysfunktionalfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Greek δυσλειτουργικός
  • δυσλειτουργικός (dysleitourgikós)functioning incorrectly or abnormally
Hungarian diszfunkcionális
  • diszfunkcionálisfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Irish mífheidhmiúil
  • mífheidhmiúilfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Italian disfunzionale, disfunzionale
  • disfunzionalenot performing properly
  • disfunzionalefunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Māori turingonge (ngonge)
  • turingonge (ngonge)functioning incorrectly or abnormally
Norwegian Bokmål dysfunksjonell
  • dysfunksjonellfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Norwegian Nynorsk dysfunksjonell
  • dysfunksjonellfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Polish dysfunkcjonalny, dysfunkcyjny
  • dysfunkcjonalnynot performing properly
  • dysfunkcyjnynot performing properly
  • dysfunkcjonalnyfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
  • dysfunkcyjnyfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Portuguese disfuncional
  • disfuncionalfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Romanian disfuncțional, disfuncțional
  • disfuncționalnot performing properly
  • disfuncționalfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Russian дисфункциона́льный
  • дисфункциона́льный (disfunkcionálʹnyj)functioning incorrectly or abnormally
Spanish disfuncional
  • disfuncionalfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Swedish dysfunktionell
  • dysfunktionellfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Turkish işlevsiz, disfonksiyonel
  • işlevsizfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
  • disfonksiyonelfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Welsh camweithredol
  • camweithredolfunctioning incorrectly or abnormally
Cite this entry
APA

dysfunctional. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dysfunctional

MLA

“dysfunctional.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dysfunctional. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dysfunctional,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dysfunctional.

Source: dysfunctional on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.