as in served
to have a certain purpose
the heart functions as a pump for the blood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of functioned
The systematic denial of financial services to Black Americans — through redlining, segregation, and discriminatory banking and insurance practices — functioned as a form of domestic economic sanctions.
—
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
In one organization, quarterly performance reviews became 20-minute presentations that functioned as final exams with careers on the line for poor performance.
—Tracy Nolan, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The poem functioned as a talisman to these students, offering a vision of a possible future, where mutual aid and solidarity across difference told an alternative story to the one skewed by both corporate and rightwing media.
—Philip Metres
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
And the researchers found no evidence of harmful build-up in the liver, suggesting this cholesterol clearing system functioned as usual.
—New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2025
There’s a compelling argument that Wirtz should be the fall guy, as both Gakpo and Szoboszlai proved to be crucial components in the title win and a big part of why the midfield functioned so well last season.
—Gregg Evans, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Your mind is not a MacBook For decades, neuroscientists assumed the brain functioned like a digital computer, a living, breathing MacBook Pro.
—Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
The team trained at a local rec center, outside of which two trailers functioned as the team’s facilities.
—Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 16 Aug. 2025
King’s understanding of how Carrie’s narration functioned in both series is flawed.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
In one organization, quarterly performance reviews became 20-minute presentations that functioned as final exams with careers on the line for poor performance.
—Tracy Nolan, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The poem functioned as a talisman to these students, offering a vision of a possible future, where mutual aid and solidarity across difference told an alternative story to the one skewed by both corporate and rightwing media.
—Philip Metres
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
And the researchers found no evidence of harmful build-up in the liver, suggesting this cholesterol clearing system functioned as usual.
—New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2025
There’s a compelling argument that Wirtz should be the fall guy, as both Gakpo and Szoboszlai proved to be crucial components in the title win and a big part of why the midfield functioned so well last season.
—Gregg Evans, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Your mind is not a MacBook For decades, neuroscientists assumed the brain functioned like a digital computer, a living, breathing MacBook Pro.
—Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
The team trained at a local rec center, outside of which two trailers functioned as the team’s facilities.
—Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 16 Aug. 2025
King’s understanding of how Carrie’s narration functioned in both series is flawed.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functioned
Verb
-
Watching or listening to a case unfold, and then feeling that relief when the truth comes out or justice is served.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Gospel music played on speakers, family members served chicken soup, strangers hugged each other, friends left carrying several plates stuffed with leftover food.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In the end, Frizer was found to have acted in self-defense and officially pardoned by the Queen.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Meyer has also appeared on Designated Survivor (2018), The Fix (2019), and Good Girls (2021), and acted in films including Changeland (2019), Unpregnant (2020), and The Enormity of Life (2021).—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.—
Duaa Eldeib,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
-
There were quite a few troubling snaps to Young, and that’s a tough look for a pair that have worked together at their positions in each of the past two summer.—
DIAMOND VENCES,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Functioned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functioned. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share