facultative

Examples

• All

• Environmental cues that enable individuals to anticipate food availability and to make facultative decisions about whether or not to breed are well-documented (reviewed in White 2008).

  Academic text (2018)

• Investigations of migratory adaptations that seem less complete than these (or in which migration is facultative rather than obligatory) might prove particularly revealing.

  Academic text (2007)

• You can choose a facultative route for your journey, making it more flexible and enjoyable.

• The doctor offered a facultative option for treatment, letting the patient decide what worked best for them.

Synonyms

O

optional

vsfacultative

90 3.3

Not required, so you can choose whether to have or use it

is the same meaning but a different word form

D

discretionary

vsfacultative

55 6.7

Available for you to use or choose

focuses on being optional rather than on how the decision is made

E

elective

vsfacultative

24 4.5

Not required and chosen by someone

is broader and used for any optional situation beyond specific fields

N

nonobligatory

vsfacultative

• Formal

1 6.1

Not required by law or rule

highlights personal choice and discretion rather than legal absence

D

discretional

vsfacultative

1 7.4

Left to a person's choice or judgment

places more emphasis on general optionality than on personal judgment

Antonyms

M

mandatory

226 3.8

Law or rules say you must do it

C

compulsory

29 4.2

Required by law or rule

How Optional

voluntary

156 3.7

facultative

9.1

discretionary

55 6.7

compulsory

29 4.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology