dysfunctional

adjective

dys·​func·​tion·​al (ˌ)dis-ˈfəŋ(k)-sh(ə-)nəl 

: characterized by or exhibiting dysfunction: such as

a

: not functioning properly : marked by impaired or abnormal functioning

With 180,000 employees and a $43 billion budget, the department is a collage of 22 distinct government agencies drawn from different corners of the federal organization chart and glued together into a single, largely dysfunctional unit.

—Paul C. Light

This form of anemia develops because the bone marrow is not producing new cells rapidly enough to replace old cells that have become destroyed or otherwise dysfunctional.

—Tom Ewing

This led to a dysfunctional credit market that in important respects soon turned non-functional.

—Warren E. Buffett

b

: characterized by abnormal or unhealthy interpersonal behavior or interaction

dysfunctional relationships

As with any dysfunctional family, it may take an outsider to get a clear picture of the situation.

—Chris Mooney

Did you know?

Dysfunctional and dysfunction have been used for almost a hundred years, often in medical writing ("brain dysfunction", "a dysfunctional liver") but also by social scientists ("a dysfunctional city council", "diplomatic dysfunction"). But they only really entered the general vocabulary in the 1980s, when therapists and talk-show hosts began talking about dysfunctional families. The signs of family dysfunction turned out to be numerous, and it soon began to seem as if pretty much all our families could be called dysfunctional.

Examples of dysfunctional in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But in recent years, the Giants always had dysfunctional Washington sitting there, happy to get beaten once or twice a year while toiling in controversy and/or irrelevance. —Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025

The audio company has been in turmoil after a dysfunctional app update last May caused customer outrage, overshadowing the launch of its first-ever headphones. —John Towfighi, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025

While the aforementioned gamer creep threatens to rob us of silly confrontational television, there’s been one thing stopping them and making season three entertaining: The Traitors picked this season are dysfunctional clowns. —Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 6 Feb. 2025

Those big-name additions never materialized, and the 2018-19 Celtics season was a dysfunctional mess, ending with a second-round playoff exit and Irving bolting for Brooklyn. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

dysfunction + -al entry 1, after functional

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above