functionalism
/ˈfʌŋkʃənəlɪzəm/noun
functionalism is a noun meaning “A doctrine, in several fields, that the function of something should be reflected in its design and the materials used in its construction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-S-M, and it appears about once in every 6 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of functionalism is functionalisms.
What does functionalism mean?
noun
- 1
A doctrine, in several fields, that the function of something should be reflected in its design and the materials used in its construction.
- 2
The definition of mental states in terms of their causes and effects.
- 3
The idea that social and cultural cohesion are a function of the interdependence and interactions of the institutions of a society.
- 4
The theory that the Holocaust was the result of a gradual escalation of decisions and procedures at the operational level (approved but not necessarily preconceived by Hitler).
- 5
A general school of thought that considers psychological phenomena in terms of their role in adaptation to the person's environment.
- 6
Synonym of functional linguistics.
- 7
Synonym of functional programming.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce functionalism?
- /ˈfʌŋkʃənəlɪzəm/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-functionalism.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of functionalism
- functionalisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is functionalism?
Functionalism appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 75,877th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Functionalism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fonctionnalisme |
| German | Funktionalismus |
| Portuguese | funiconalismo , funcionalismo |
| Spanish | funcionalismo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.