functionalism

noun

func·​tion·​al·​ism ˈfəŋ(k)-sh(ə-)nə-ˌli-zəm 

1

: a late 19th century to early 20th century American school of psychology concerned especially with how the mind functions to adapt the individual to the environment compare structuralism sense 1

2

: a philosophy of design (as in architecture) holding that form should be adapted to use, material, and structure

3

: a theory that stresses the interdependence of the patterns and institutions of a society and their interaction in maintaining cultural and social unity

4

: a doctrine or practice that emphasizes practical utility or functional relations

functionalist

ˈfəŋ(k)-sh(ə-)nə-list 

noun

functionalist adjective

or functionalistic

ˌfən(k)-sh(ə-)nə-ˈli-stik 

Examples of functionalism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This chair celebrates organic functionalism, a practical piece that feels as light and elegant as its namesake. —Natalie Stoclet, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

The impact of functionalism The functionalist movement’s beginnings compounded technology with the key to shaping our cities in a new way. —Carlos Moreno, Fortune, 7 May 2024

The chandelier was just one example of a conspicuous incongruity between the building’s high-tech functionalism and the couple’s taste in décor. —Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Parsons' Social Action Theory Talcott Parsons, a significant figure in 20th-century sociological theory, introduced functionalism to understand how society's various parts contribute to its stability or equilibrium. —Sindhu Bhaskar, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024

Around the same time, the Mexican artist and architect Juan O’Gorman, an early proponent of functionalism in the Americas, turned toward an esoteric style exemplified by the midcentury Casa Cueva, with its irregular volumes and elaborate stone mosaics. —Michael Snyder Ana Topoleanu, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2023

The city was once center of the architectural style called Italian Rationalism, developed in the 1920s and 1930s based on principles of functionalism for which a building should clearly reflect the purpose for which it was created without much flourish. —John Mariani, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021

Naumann recalls the arrival of these wacky postmodern designs in Zwickau as a stark departure from the post-Bauhaus functionalism then prevalent in the former Communist bloc. —Evan Moffitt, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2023

In the 1970s, the language of Modernism ruptured as postmodernists questioned functionalism in architecture and the West’s fundamental belief in Renaissance unity. —Joseph Giovannini, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 1