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Practical

[prak-ti-kuhl]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

of or pertaining to practice or action: practical mathematics.

consisting of, involving, or resulting from practice or action: a practical application of a rule.

of, pertaining to, or concerned with ordinary activities, business, or work: practical affairs.

adapted or designed for actual use; useful: practical instructions.

engaged or experienced in actual practice or work: a practical politician.

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inclined toward or fitted for actual work or useful activities: a practical person.

mindful of the results, usefulness, advantages or disadvantages, etc., of action or procedure.

matter-of-fact; prosaic.

being such in practice or effect; virtual: a practical certainty.

10.

Theater. practicable (def. 3).

COLLAPSE

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English. See practic, -al¹

Related forms

prac·ti·cal·i·ty, prac·ti·cal·ness, noun

non·prac·ti·cal, adjective

non·prac·ti·cal·ly, adverb

non·prac·ti·cal·ness, noun

non·prac·ti·cal·i·ty, noun

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pre·prac·ti·cal, adjective

qua·si-prac·ti·cal, adjective

qua·si-prac·ti·cal·ly, adverb

sem·i·prac·ti·cal, adjective

ul·tra·prac·ti·cal, adjective

COLLAPSE

Can be confused: possible, practicable, practical (see synonym note at possible; see synonym note at the current entry).

Synonyms
1. pragmatic. 7. Practical, judicious, sensible refer to good judgment in action, conduct, and the handling of everyday matters. Practical suggests the ability to adopt means to an end or to turn what is at hand to account: to adopt practical measures for settling problems. Judicious implies the possession and use of discreet judgment, discrimination, and balance: a judicious use of one's time. Sensible implies the possession and use of sound reason and shrewd common sense: a sensible suggestion.

Antonyms
7. ill-advised, unwise, foolish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Practical

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Practical is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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Example Sentences

It is just that their solutions these days need to be practical and local, free of grand theories and manifestos.

The premise of this very funny and practical book is that your quality of life increases as your spending decreases.

Some want a more comfortable, practical bike for daily use.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

practical (ˈpræktɪk^əl)

—*adj*
1.	of, involving, or concerned with experience or actual use; not theoretical
2.	of or concerned with ordinary affairs, work, etc
3.	adapted or adaptable for use
4.	of, involving, or trained by practice
5.	being such for all useful or general purposes; virtual

—n
6.	an examination in the practical skills of a subject: a science practical

[C17: from earlier practic, from French pratique, via Late Latin from Greek praktikos, from prassein to experience, negotiate, perform]

usage A distinction is usually made between practical and practicable. Practical refers to a person, idea, project, etc, as being more concerned with or relevant to practice than theory: he is a very practical person; the idea had no practical application. Practicable refers to a project or idea as being capable of being done or put into effect: the plan was expensive, yet practicable

practi'cality

—n

'practicalness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

practical

1604, earlier practic (adj.) in same sense (c.1380), from O.Fr. practique (adj.) "fit for action," earlier pratique (13c.), from M.L. practicalis, L.L. practicus "practical," from Gk. praktikos "practical." Practically "for practical purposes, as good as" is recorded from 1748.

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

practical

see to all intents and (for all practical) purposes.

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Idioms & Phrases

to all intents and (for all practical) purposes

Matching Quote

"A very simple and useful device is to have a memorandum-book, so small that it can be easily carried in the pocket, to be used instead of your mind to keep note of any errand or any appointment that you may have. The Standard Diary, less than four inches long and less than two and a half inches wide, is one of the best for this purpose. ...In fact, such diaries as these, in their wide range of information, would seem to be all that one needs in practical life, the only other book that at all approaches them in this respect being unquestionably Webster's Unabridged Dictionary."

-Anna C. Brackett

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