practical
AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Adjective (4)
- 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”Opposite impracticalSimilar matter-of-fact, operable, working, functional, interoperable, unimaginative, serviceable, applicativeRelates to practicalitySee also concrete, possible, realistic, serviceable
- 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”Synonyms: hardheadedhard-nosedpragmaticOpposite unrealisticSimilar realistic
- being actually such in almost every respect“a practical failure”“the once elegant temple lay in virtual ruin”Synonyms: virtualOpposite unrealisticSimilar realistic
- having or put to a practical purpose or use“practical mathematics”“practical applications of calculus”Opposite theoreticalSimilar applied
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Adjective relating to practice, hands-on
- Spanish
- práctico
- French
- pratique
- German
- praktisch
- Italian
- pratico
- Portuguese
- prático
- Russian
- практи́ческий praktíčeskij
- Dutch
- praktisch
- Polish
- praktyczny
- Swedish
- praktisk
- Greek
- πρακτικός praktikós
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: 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.
2. Capable of being turned to use or account; useful, in distinction from ideal or theoretical; as, practical chemistry. “Man's practical understanding.” Robert South “For all practical purposes.” Thomas Babington Macaulay
3. Evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind.
4. Derived from practice; as, practical skill.
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.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54