integral
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Constituting a whole together with other parts or factors.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
intuhgruhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɪntəɡɹəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Constituting a whole together with other parts or factors; not omittable or removable.
mathematics
Relating to integration ("the process of finding the integral [noun] of a function").
noun
mathematics
One of the two fundamental operations of calculus (the other being differentiation), whereby a function's displacement, area, volume, or other qualities arising from the study of infinitesimal change are quantified, usually defined as a limiting process on a sequence of partial sums. Denoted using a long s: ∫, or a variant thereof.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Relating to integration ("the process of finding the integral [noun] of a function").
Used this way, integral is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a mathematical use: it is defined precisely and belongs to working with figures and calculations rather than to ordinary conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Mathematics
- Geometry
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use integral
- “The integral of x\mapsto x^2 on [0,1] is \frac{1}{3}.”noun
- “The integral of x^2 is \frac{x^3}{3} plus a constant.”noun
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Collections with this word
Themed sets you can browse for free.
Use it yourself
Knowing “integral” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.