View synonyms for facultative

facultative

[ fak-uhl-tey-tiv ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

conferring a faculty, privilege, permission, or the power of doing or not doing something:
a facultative enactment.
left to one's option or choice; optional:
The last questions in the examination were facultative.
that may or may not take place; that may or may not assume a specified character.
Biology. having the capacity to live under more than one specific set of environmental conditions, as a plant that can lead either a parasitic or a nonparasitic life or a bacterium that can live with or without air ( obligate ).
of or relating to the faculties.

facultative

/ ˈfækəltətɪv /

adjective

empowering but not compelling the doing of an act
philosophy that may or may not occur
insurance denoting a form of reinsurance in which the reinsurer has no obligation to accept a particular risk nor the insurer to reinsure, terms and conditions being negotiated for each reinsurance
See obligate
biology able to exist under more than one set of environmental conditions Compare obligate
a facultative parasite can exist as a parasite or a saprotroph
of or relating to a faculty

facultative

/ făk′əl-tā′tĭv /

Capable of existing under varying environmental conditions or by assuming various behaviors. Bacteria that are facultative aerobes can live in both aerobic and anaerobic environments. A facultative parasite can live independently of its usual host.
Compare obligate

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Derived Forms

ˈfacultatively, adverb

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Other Words From

facul·tative·ly adverb
non·facul·tative adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of facultative¹

First recorded in 1820-25; from French facultative (feminine) “conveying or granting a right or power,” from faculté “knowledge, learning, physical or moral capacity,” ultimately from Latin facultāt-, the stem of facultās (originally a doublet of the noun facilitās “ease, ease of performance or completion, facility”) “ability, power, capacity” + -ative adjective suffix; see faculty ( def ), -ive ( def )

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Example Sentences

Similarly the saphrophytes are classed as obligatory saphrophytes and facultative parasites.

From Project Gutenberg

If a parasite cannot exist outside animal tissues, it is an obligatory parasite; if it can, it is a facultative saphrophyte.

From Project Gutenberg

I have seen this particularly in those cases where facultative divergence also was greater than usual.

From Project Gutenberg

Moreover, the extent of the "facultative" divergence attainable by prisms shows a considerable latitude.

From Project Gutenberg

(b) Both saprophytic and facultative parasitic bacteria agree in requiring non-concentrated food.

From Project Gutenberg

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April 19, 2024tortuous

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facula facultative apomict

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