Meanings
- not comparableInvolving, or controlled by multiple factors.
One of the under-reported dynamics during the coronavirus pandemic has been the collapse of One Nation’s vote. The reasons for this are likely multi-factorial.
2021 February 2, Katharine Murphy, The Guardian, archived from the original on 25 Apr 20222 more examples
[…] a pattern in medical research on infectious and degenerative diseases in the United States. That pattern shows three main built-in biases: 1) towards a single-agent theory of disease, as opposed to a multi-factorial analysis; 2) […]
1989 August 19, Bob Lederer, “Hiding Behind HIV”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 6, page 8“Neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular, are multifactorial and very difficult to associate with a singular cause. Pregnant patients should not be frightened away from the many benefits of acetaminophen, which is safe and one of the few options pregnant people have for pain relief.”
2025 September 12, Jacqueline Howard, Deidre McPhillips, “In meeting with RFK Jr., CEO of Tylenol maker stresses there is no clear link between medication and autism, WSJ reports”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Oct 2025 - not comparablebiologyInvolving multiple genetic or environmental factors.
plural multifactorials
- mathematicsA generalization of a factorial in which each element to be multiplied differs from the next by an integer (e.g. n(n-3)(n-6)(n-9)...).
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveinvolving or depending on several factors or causes (especially pertaining to a condition or disease resulting from the interaction of many genes)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*mel-
- Proto-Indo-European*ml̥tós?
- Proto-Italic*moltos
- Latinmultus
- Latinmultī
- Middle Englishmulti-
- Englishmulti-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁k-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰh₁kyéti
- Proto-Italic*θakjō
- Proto-Italic*fakjō
- Latinfaciō
- Latinfactor
- Middle Frenchfacteur
- Latinfactor
- Anglo-Normanfactour
- Middle Englishfactour
- Englishfactor
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishfactorial
- Englishmultifactorial
Translations
Russian многофа́кторный
- многофа́кторный (mnogofáktornyj)Translations
Spanish multifactorial
- multifactorialTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with multifactorial
Cite this entry
multifactorial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/multifactorial
“multifactorial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/multifactorial. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “multifactorial,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/multifactorial.
Source: multifactorial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.