fractional

adjective

frac·tion·al | \ ˈfrak-shnəl $How to pronounce fractional (audio)$ , -shə-nᵊl\

Definition of fractional

1 : of, relating to, or being a fraction

2 : of, relating to, or being fractional currency

3 : relatively small : inconsiderable

4 : of, relating to, or involving a process for separating components of a mixture through differences in physical or chemical properties fractional distillation

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Examples of fractional in a Sentence

There has been a fractional rise in the price of the stock. There is only a fractional improvement in the new version.

Recent Examples on the Web

In addition, a fractional anisotropy allowed researchers to estimate how well neural signals were being carried by white matter brain tissue. — Fox News, "Routine football collisions could damage players' brains, researchers say," 13 Aug. 2019 None of this fractional dimensional stuff here, thank you very much. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Fractal structure produces fractal electrons with fractal energies," 2 Dec. 2018 But it can be formulated in precise mathematical terms, and, unlike the standard traveling salesman problem, this fractional version can be solved efficiently. — Quanta Magazine, "Computer Scientists Take Road Less Traveled," 29 Jan. 2013 The House targeted a series of other small tax breaks, eliminating those that benefit investors in gold bullion, owners of fractional jet shares, owners of motor-racing teams, and buyers of aviation repairs and flight simulators. — Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com, "Ohio Senate unanimously passes budget plan, setting up negotiations with House," 20 June 2019 Of course, fractional dimensions don’t really exist. — Quanta Magazine, "Betting on the Future of Quantum Gravity," 14 Mar. 2014 What about people with fractional slave ancestry—50%, 10%, 0.0001%?... — WSJ, "Reparations for Slavery Open Pandora’s Box," 31 Mar. 2019 The money can be divided into three categories: spending (that money can be transferred to a Visa card), saving (kids can save it in cash or buy fractional shares of stock) and sharing (placed into charities or causes of the child's choice). — Sonja Haller, USA TODAY, "Gender pay inequality starts at home. Parents pay boys twice as much allowance as girls," 3 July 2018 Thirteen fractional suites there are currently for sale, priced from $125,000 to $599,000. — Amy Gamerman, WSJ, "The Nomads Who Own Fractions of Multiple Luxury Homes," 19 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fractional.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

19 Aug 2019

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Time Traveler for fractional

The first known use of fractional was in 1650

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More Definitions for fractional

fractional

adjective

$How to pronounce fractional (audio)$

English Language Learners Definition of fractional

mathematics : of or relating to a fraction

: very small

: not complete

See the full definition for fractional in the English Language Learners Dictionary

fractional

adjective

frac·tion·al | \ ˈfrak-shə-nᵊl $How to pronounce fractional (audio)$ \

Kids Definition of fractional

1 : of, relating to, or being a fraction fractional numbers

2 : fairly small fractional improvement

fractional

adjective

frac·tion·al | \ -shən-ᵊl, -shnəl $How to pronounce fractional (audio)$ \

Medical Definition of fractional

: of, relating to, or involving a process for separating components of a mixture through differences in physical or chemical properties fractional distillation