practical
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Useful and sensible in real life.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
praktuhkuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɹæktəkəl
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
Relating to, or based on, practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis.
Being likely to be effective and applicable to a real situation; able to be put to use.
Of a person, having skills or knowledge that are practical.
noun
british
A part of an exam or series of exams in which the candidate has to demonstrate their practical ability
Laboratory experiment, test or investigation
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Relating to, or based on, practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis.
Used this way, practical is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in academic writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use practical
- “He is a very practical person.”adjective
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Of a person, having skills or knowledge
Concerned
Other combinations
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Almost.
Engage in a rehearsal (of).
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Politics based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.
A nurse who has enough training to be licensed by a state to provide routine care for the sick.
Someone who plays practical jokes on others.
A prank or trick played on a person (especially one intended to make the victim appear foolish).
The act of bringing something to bear.
A nurse who has enough training to be licensed by a state to provide routine care for the sick.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: relating to or or based on or practice
Antonyms
Sense: relating to or or based on or practice
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.
Use it yourself
Knowing “practical” 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.