[syn: virtual(a), practical(a)]
4. having or put to a practical purpose or use;
- Example: "practical mathematics"
- Example: "practical applications of calculus"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Practical \Prac"ti*cal\, a. [L. practicus active, Gr. ? fit for
doing or performing, practical, active, fr. ? to do, work,
effect: cf. F. pratique, formerly also practique. Cf.
Pragmatic, Practice.]
1. Of or pertaining to practice or action.
[1913 Webster]
2. Capable of being turned to use or account; useful, in
distinction from ideal or theoretical; as, practical
chemistry. "Man's practical understanding." --South. "For
all practical purposes." --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
3. Evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge
to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind.
[1913 Webster]
4. Derived from practice; as, practical skill.
[1913 Webster]
Practical joke, a joke put in practice; a joke the fun of
which consists in something done, in distinction from
something said; esp., a trick played upon a person.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
practical
adj 1: concerned with actual use or practice; "he is a very
practical person"; "the idea had no practical
application"; "a practical knowledge of Japanese";
"woodworking is a practical art" [ant: impractical]
2: guided by practical experience and observation rather than
theory; "a hardheaded appraisal of our position"; "a hard-
nosed labor leader"; "completely practical in his approach to
business"; "not ideology but pragmatic politics" [syn:
hardheaded, hard-nosed, practical, pragmatic]
3: being actually such in almost every respect; "a practical
failure"; "the once elegant temple lay in virtual ruin" [syn:
virtual(a), practical(a)]
4: having or put to a practical purpose or use; "practical
mathematics"; "practical applications of calculus"