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

For Simpsons creator Matt Groening, the initial appeal of the comically dysfunctional yet loving brood was rooted in Generation X fans’ readiness to break from conservative family sitcom orthodoxy. —Keith Murphy, Time, 24 July 2025

Marvel Comics’s dysfunctional super-family proved that comic-book characters could be relatable, but so far, each attempt to create a Fantastic Four movie has ranged from forgettable to excruciating. —Dale Obbie, Vulture, 23 July 2025

Married followed the dysfunctional Bundy family including shoe-selling patriarch Al (Ed O'Neill), his lazy wife Peggy (Sagal), teen daughter Kelly (Applegate), and bumbling younger son Bud (David Faustino). —Daysia Tolentino, EW.com, 22 July 2025

Amin was the creator of a myth that was both manifestly untrue and extraordinarily compelling: that his violent, dysfunctional regime was actually engaged in freeing people from foreign oppressors. —Derek R. Peterson, The Conversation, 18 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

dysfunction + -al entry 1, after functional

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dysfunctional

• bifunctional
• nonfunctional
• functional
• junctional