functioning

[ fuhngk-shuh-ning ]

adjective

1. performing a specified action or activity; working; operating:

   My son has only one functioning kidney.

2. (of a person with addiction or other illness or disability) able to cope with everyday life, as at home or at work: functioning diabetics. high-functioning.

   a functioning alcoholic with a successful career;

   functioning diabetics.

Word History and Origins

Origin of functioning¹

First recorded in 1835–40; in 1970–75 functioning fordef 2; function ( def ) (in the sense “to perform an action”) + -ing ²( def )

Example Sentences

It’s about the only way I’ve been able to stay engaged and remain an upright, arguably functioning human.

From Los Angeles Times

Former ministers described to us the competing goals of major government departments, for example a Home Office attempting to keep numbers down, in opposition to a Treasury that wants tax revenue from more workers, a Health ministry that’s reliant on overseas workers to keep the NHS functioning and a Business department that wants to attract entrepreneurs.

From BBC

In a 2020 study Hart coauthored in Frontiers of Psychology reviewing the evidence behind the latter point, the authors reported that the changes in cognition that were observed among children whose mothers smoked cannabis in pregnancy still fell in a normal clinical range and concluded that “the current evidence does not suggest that prenatal cannabis exposure alone is associated with clinically significant cognitive functioning impairments.”

From Salon

But as of November 2022, the administration had stood up a functioning website for those eligible, and applications were pouring in, millions of Americans submitting for relief, showing broad enthusiasm for a policy that made an immediate appeal to improve the economic situation of young and lower income voters.

From Slate

In her high-rise Kyiv apartment, Vita Vigul, an entrepreneur, showed how she and her husband had prepared for winter: rechargeable LED lighting strips, a propane-fueled hot plate, a a small pellet stove in case the city’s central heating system, the largest in Europe, stops functioning.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• functional
• working