executive function

noun

psychology

: the group of complex mental processes and cognitive abilities (such as working memory, impulse inhibition, and reasoning) that control the skills (such as organizing tasks, remembering details, managing time, and solving problems) required for goal-directed behavior

The biggest impacts, she says, are in enhancing what's known as executive function—the ability to perform complex tasks that rely on planning or decision making.

—Janet Raloff

also : one of these complex mental processes

But a new study reports that soccer players actually have superior executive functions, the brain processes responsible for planning and abstract thinking.

—Sindya N. Bhanoo

executive functioning noun

Measures of attention, hyperactivity, and executive functioning (the ability to process feedback, interpret life's good and bad moments, and react in an appropriate way to events) were based on reports from parents and teachers …

—David Kirby

Examples of executive function in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Research shows this simple shift activates the brain's executive function centers. —Anna Barnhill, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025

An extrovert with high emotional intelligence who struggles with executive function might help peers coalesce around a group project, then count on others for organization and managing deadlines. —Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 12 May 2025

Research has shown that obesity can have a major effect on brain health, influencing everything from memory to executive function skills (the complex ability to initiate, plan, and carry out tasks). —Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 24 Mar. 2025

And because people with ADHD don’t tend to have strong executive function—a.k.a. —Cheyenne Buckingham, SELF, 19 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for executive function

• adjunction
• compunction
• conjunction
• disjunction
• dysfunction
• injunction
• inunction
• malfunction
• eigenfunction
• multifunction
• heterojunction
• junction