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Vital vs Functional - What's the difference?

vital | functional |

As adjectives the difference between vital and functional

is that vital is relating to, or characteristic of life while functional is in good working order.

As a noun functional is

a function that takes a function as its argument; More precisely: A function y=f(x) whose argument x varies in a space of (real valued, complex valued) functions and whose value belongs to a monodimensional space. An example: the definite integration of integrable real functions in a real interval.

vital

English

(wikipedia vital)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Relating to, or characteristic of life.
  • vital''' energies; '''vital''' functions; '''vital actions
  • Necessary to the continuation of life; being the seat of life; being that on which life depends.
  • The brain is a vital organ.
  • * Spenser
  • Do the heavens afford him vital food?
  • Invigorating or life-giving.
  • Necessary to continued existence.
  • The transition to farming was vital for the creation of civilisation.
  • Relating to the recording of life events.
  • Birth, marriage and death certificates are vital records.
  • Very important.
  • It is vital that you don't forget to do your homework.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-12-14
  • , author=Simon Jenkins, authorlink=Simon Jenkins , title=We mustn't overreact to North Korea boys' toys , volume=188, issue=2, page=23 , date=2012-12-21 , magazine= citation , passage=David Cameron insists that his latest communications data bill is “vital to counter terrorism”. Yet terror is mayhem. It is no threat to freedom. That threat is from counter-terror, from ministers capitulating to securocrats.}}
  • Containing life; living.
  • * Milton
  • spirits that live throughout, vital in every part
  • * Alexander Pope
  • The dart flew on, and pierced a vital part.
  • Capable of living; in a state to live; viable.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
  • Pythagoras and Hippocrates affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital .

    Derived terms

    * vital force * vital organ * vital signs * vital statistics

    functional

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • In good working order.
  • Useful; serving a purpose, fulfilling a function
  • That sculpture is not merely artistic, but also functional : it can be used as a hatrack.
  • Only for functional purposes, notably in architecture
  • ''A functional construction element generally must meet higher technical but lower aesthetical requirements
  • (computing theory) Having semantics defined purely in terms of mathematical functions, without side-effects.
  • (medicine) Of a disease, such that its symptoms cannot be referred to any appreciable lesion or change of structure; opposed to organic disease, in which the organ itself is affected.
  • Synonyms

    * functioning, working * utilitarian

    Antonyms

    * non-functional * dysfunctional * organic

    Derived terms

    (Derived terms) * function * functional analysis * functional analysis diagram * functional anatomy * functional application * functional bombing * functional constraint * functional decomposition * functional design * functional diagram * functional disorder * functional electrical stimulation * functional error recovery * functional failure * functional group * functional interleaving * functional programming * functional requirement * functional residual capacity * functional specifications * functional switching circuit * functional unit * functionality * functionally

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (mathematics) A function that takes a function as its argument; More precisely: A function y''=''f''(''x'') whose argument ''x varies in a space of (real valued, complex valued) functions and whose value belongs to a monodimensional space. An example: the definite integration of integrable real functions in a real interval.
  • (mathematics, functional analysis) A scalar-valued linear function on a vector space
  • (computing) An object encapsulating a function pointer (or equivalent).