Skip to main content
nonfunctioning

nonfunctioning

1 3.9
Not working and so not doing its job
  • adjective
  • /nɒnˈfʌŋkʃənɪŋ/
translation icon : no funcional
  • The technician replaced several nonfunctioning parts in the machine to restore its efficiency.
  • nonfunctioning part

Examples

  • In several of these places, backup power systems were inadequate for prolonged use or nonfunctioning, and city power had not been restored.

    Blog text (34)
  • A group of locals sat gloomily around a nonfunctioning fountain.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • It is not unusual, however, to find nonfunctioning pumps at pump-out facilities.

    Academic text (1998)
  • There is no mechanism for tracking land departures, and the system for tracking arrivals and departures by air, which is how most visa holders travel, is largely nonfunctioning.

    Academic text (2002)
  • But it did not erase, or even much ease at first, the most pressing problems confronting that beleaguered country: endemic violence, a shattered state, a nonfunctioning economy, and a decimated society.

    Academic text (2004)
  • During the inspection, we discovered a nonfunctioning alarm system that had not been repaired.

  • The nonfunctioning elevator left residents stranded on the upper floors for hours.

Synonyms

useless
vsnonfunctioning
550 1.0

Not able to do the job it is made for

is more neutral, pointing to nonperformance rather than broader uselessness
inoperative
vsnonfunctioning
9 5.5

Not working or not having any effect

is about failing to perform the intended function rather than legal or formal invalidity
inoperable
vsnonfunctioning
7 7.1

You cannot use it because it does not work

is a general label for not performing the intended function rather than permanent incapacity
nonfunctional
vsnonfunctioning
3 4.4

Not working or broken

is the same meaning but uses the -ing form rather than -al
nonoperational
vsnonfunctioning
1 4.6

Not working or currently not in use

is about failing to perform the intended function rather than mere unavailability
functionless
vsnonfunctioning
1 5.0

Not working or useful for any purpose

is about failure to perform a specific intended function rather than general purposelessness
nonworking
vsnonfunctioning
3.9

Not operating or being used

is about failing to perform the intended function rather than temporary inactivity
non-operating
vsnonfunctioning
4.9

Not working now or not part of the main business activities

is focused on failing to perform a function rather than organizational noninvolvement
malfunctioning
vsnonfunctioning
4.0

Not working properly so a machine or system cannot work as it should

is about complete lack or absence of intended function rather than partial faults
unfunctional
vsnonfunctioning
8.2

Not useful for everyday tasks

is focused on failing to work for its intended function rather than general unsuitability

Antonyms

3 3.1

Working as it should and ready to use

How Functional

working
1.0
operational
102 4.1
faulty
61 3.5
nonfunctioning
1 3.9
broken
31 1.0

Surface Forms

nonfunctioning positive

Morphology

nonfunctioning = functioning (transparent) = non + function + ing

The negative prefix 'non-' attaches to the adjective 'functioning' to yield 'not working', a directly derivable and productive formation.

Etymology

Nonfunctioning comes from the prefix non-, meaning 'not', and the root function, meaning 'work' or 'job', as in functional. So nonfunctioning describes something that is 'not working' or not doing its intended job.