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
Malena Martínez, has functioned as more than a restaurant.
—
Paola Miglio, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 June 2026
Alcohol has historically functioned as an engine of social environments.
—Peter Su, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
And composer John Paesano, while making the series, used old techniques to create a score that not only sounded but functioned like the great scores of those films.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 16 June 2026
Sitting up in Section 421 — the upper corner of the stadium, directly in the sun — in the second half, the match functioned as a giant white-noise machine.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 June 2026
The space functioned as a bright great room and teen hangout, fitted with arcade games, a large television and a snack bar.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 13 June 2026
In the early days of the company, physical operations and digital marketing functioned in parallel but lacked a truly conversational flow.
—Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 11 June 2026
Bailey says the group functioned like an elite sports team.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026
For 30 years now, Of Montreal has functioned less as a band and more as a vehicle for exploring Kevin Barnes’ emotional whims.
—Ethan Beck, Pitchfork, 9 June 2026
Paola Miglio, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 June 2026
Alcohol has historically functioned as an engine of social environments.
—Peter Su, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
And composer John Paesano, while making the series, used old techniques to create a score that not only sounded but functioned like the great scores of those films.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 16 June 2026
Sitting up in Section 421 — the upper corner of the stadium, directly in the sun — in the second half, the match functioned as a giant white-noise machine.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 June 2026
The space functioned as a bright great room and teen hangout, fitted with arcade games, a large television and a snack bar.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 13 June 2026
In the early days of the company, physical operations and digital marketing functioned in parallel but lacked a truly conversational flow.
—Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 11 June 2026
Bailey says the group functioned like an elite sports team.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026
For 30 years now, Of Montreal has functioned less as a band and more as a vehicle for exploring Kevin Barnes’ emotional whims.
—Ethan Beck, Pitchfork, 9 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for functioned
Verb
-
Rhaenys served as a valuable member of Rhaenyra’s council, even going to stop Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) from taking Rook’s Rest for King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), so Rhaenyra could stay back.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
22 June 2026
-
Burnham served in cabinet roles under former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
Verb
-
The Board’s recommendations are advisory, and Meta is not required to implement them, though the company has historically acted on roughly 75 percent of Board recommendations, which makes its response to this particular ruling worth watching.—
Aditya Jadhav,
Interesting Engineering,
23 June 2026
-
But the legislature has since acted to bolster local authority to regulate oil operations.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2026
Verb
-
La Roja needs quicker movement of the ball and its players, more adaptation to what the opponent is doing (Saudi Arabia is not going to play free and open after seeing what worked) and to be more ruthless.—
Patrick Sung Cuadrado,
CNN Money,
21 June 2026
-
Elmo Fire Department I‑20 westbound was closed as crews worked the scene.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
21 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Functioned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/functioned. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
