operational
adjective
Simple meaning
Functioning and ready for use.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ahperayshuhnuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɑpɚˈeɪʃənəl
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
Functioning and ready for use.
military
Of or intended for or involved in military operations
Of or relating to operations, especially military operations.
Effective or operative.
Determined by means of practical measures.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Functioning and ready for use.
Used this way, operational is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use operational
- “Operational difficulties.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Of or relating to a function or functions.
Functional, in working order.
Ready for service or able to give long service.
Engaged in or ready for military or naval operations.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A terrorist cell that performs clandestine activities.
Loss of military equipment in field operations.
Loss of military equipment in field operations.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: functioning and ready for use
Antonyms
Sense: functioning and ready for use
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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.