- prac´ti|cal|ness
- prac|ti|cal «PRAK tuh kuhl», adjective, noun.–adj.1. having to do with action or practice rather than thought or theory: »
Earning a living is a practical matter.
SYNONYM(S): See syn. under sensible. (Cf. ↑sensible)2. fit for actual practice: »a practical plan. My scheme…was so much more practical…than the one hatched by those three simple-minded conspirators (W. H. Hudson).
3. useful: »Bookbinding, basketwork, and interior decoration are practical arts. His legal knowledge was not very practical when he became a chemist.
4. having good sense; using common sense: »A practical person does not spend his time and money foolishly.
5. inclined toward or fitted for action rather than thought or imagination; matter-of-fact; prosaic: »a practical mind. A common-place, practical reply…was, I was sure, the best (Charlotte Brontë).
6. engaged in actual practice or work: »A practical farmer runs a farm.
7. being such in effect; virtual: »So many of our soldiers were captured that our victory was a practical defeat.
–n.1. an examination of practical knowledge in some subject: »She had arrived in Edinburgh still “stiff as a board” after some exhausting practicals as a physical education student (London Times).
2. a pragmatic or practical person: »Visionaries disagreed with practicals and writers of sensibility with social historians (Saul Bellow).
╂[extension of practic < Old French practique, learned borrowing from Late Latin practicus < Greek prāktikós < prāktós < pr
, variant of pr
do, act]–prac´ti|cal|ness, noun.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
