dysfunctionaladj.
/(ˌ)dɪsˈfʌŋ(k)ʃn̩(ə)l/, /(ˌ)dɪsˈfʌŋ(k)ʃən(ə)l/, U.S. /dɪsˈfəŋkʃn(ə)l/, /dɪsˈfəŋkʃən(ə)l/ 1. Of or relating to dysfunction; that disrupts or impairs proper, normal, or satisfactory function; not operating normally.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adjective] > specific modes of action or operation > faulty
defectious?1566
dysfunctional1936
out of whack1952
malfunctioning1966
Brummie1978
1936 Bot. Gaz. 97 686 In general, the pathologic has been equated with..(d) destruction and the dysfunctional, that is, harmful events (injuries) at or between the surfaces of organisms and their parts.
1952 T. Parsons Social Syst. ii. 35 They must be counteracted by ‘mechanisms of control’ unless dysfunctional consequences are to ensue.
1969 R. Blackburn in A. Cockburn & R. Blackburn Student Power 186 Thus the 1929 crash was ‘dysfunctional’ for capitalism and so was the Chinese People's Liberation Army ‘dysfunctional’ for the social order of Nationalist China in the nineteen thirties and forties.
1979 L. Shainberg Brain Surgeon (1980) iii. 81 The purpose of all this was to excise the dysfunctional cells.
1994 J. Kelman How Late it Was 182 He's gony raise the whole question about how come ye're wasting departmental time registering Dysfunctional Capacity, because as far as he's concerned ye're as fit as a fiddle.
2. Chiefly Sociology and Psychology. Exhibiting or characterized by dysfunction; (of social interactions, family relationships, etc.) disruptively aberrant or abnormal, esp. when harmful to the emotional well-being of those involved; (of a person, group, family, etc.) incapable of forming or conducting normal social relations; maladjusted.
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1942 L. Wilson Acad. Man ii. vii. 116 Any primacy of ulterior motives of personal gain and success is definitely dysfunctional.
1959 G. D. Mitchell Sociol. i. ii. 38 That it is functional..for mothers of young children to go out to work does not mean that it is not dysfunctional for the well-being of their children.
1981 L. Hoffman Found. Family Therapy xiii. 254 [He] redefined symptomatic behavior as evidence of family loyalty and indicative of a sacrifice of individual growth to the interests of the group. How different this is from using a negative language that defines symptoms as dysfunctional or indicating a dysfunctional family.
1988 Jrnl. Affective Disorders 10 27 The sample could be characterized as being chronically depressed (mean duration of 9 months), as predominantly (86%) female, in having relatively stable but dysfunctional relationships.
1992 M. Medved Hollywood vs. Amer. iii. vii. 126 In point of fact, this handsomely shot and well-acted picture lavished virtually all its attention on three radically dysfunctional marriages.
2000 City Paper (Philadelphia) 27 Apr. 57/3 A nasty play in a knockout production about a teenage arsonist who murders his parents after an incestuous relationship with his sister. Dysfunctional to the max.
Derivatives
dysˈfunctionally adv.
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1949 R. K. Merton Social Theory i. i. 51 Unintended consequences of action are..those which are irrelevant to the system which they affect neither functionally nor dysfunctionally.
2001 N.Y. Times 1 July viii. 11/4 The doctors also advise anyone who scores dysfunctionally on the erectile inventory to see a family doctor.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> as lemmas
dysˈfunctional
dysˈfunctional adj.
ΚΠ
1952 T. Parsons Social Syst. ii. 35 They must be counteracted by ‘mechanisms of control’ unless dysfunctional consequences are to ensue.
1959 G. D. Mitchell Sociol. i. ii. 38 That it is functional..for mothers of young children to go out to work does not mean that it is not dysfunctional for the well-being of their children.
1969 R. Blackburn in A. Cockburn & R. Blackburn Student Power 186 Thus the 1929 crash was ‘dysfunctional’ for capitalism and so was the Chinese People's Liberation Army ‘dysfunctional’ for the social order of Nationalist China in the nineteen thirties and forties.
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adj.1936as lemmas