Dysfunction

//dɪsˈfʌŋk.ʃən// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A failure to function in an expected or complete manner. Usually refers to a disorder in a bodily organ (e.g. erectile dysfunction), a mental disorder, or the improper behavior of a social group. countable, uncountable

    "Cerebellar dysfunction is characterized by truncal ataxia, a broad-based stance, dysmetria in which the limbs either overstep (hypermetria) or understep (hypometria), and tremor that is most pronounced when the animal attempts a goal-orientated movement (intention tremor)."

  2. 2
    (medicine) any disturbance in the functioning of an organ or body part or a disturbance in the functioning of a social group wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To fail to function correctly; to malfunction. intransitive, nonstandard

Synonyms

All synonyms
clusterfuckclusterfuckdisfunctionmalfunctionmassacree

Example

More examples

"Is the source of the erectile dysfunction of my husband the fact that he started drinking?"

Etymology

From dys- + function.

Related phrases

Eustachian tube dysfunctioncognitive dysfunction syndromeminimal brain dysfunctionpost-SSRI sexual dysfunctionpost-retinoid sexual dysfunctionsexual dysfunctiontemporomandibular joint dysfunctionerectile dysfunction

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.