dysfunctional
adjective
Paul C. LightTom EwingWarren E. BuffettChris 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
Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 12 June 2025
Malcolm in the Middle starred Frankie Muniz as the titular character, a young genius growing up within a dysfunctional family.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2025
The result is a fragmented landscape that mirrors the dysfunctional world of sync licensing.
—Virginie Berger, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Bad Sisters Up for more dysfunctional family drama with a side of potential murder?
—Emily Blackwood, People.com, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dysfunctional
Cite this Entry
“Dysfunctional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dysfunctional. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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