functional in practice

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "functional in practice" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that works effectively in real-world situations, as opposed to just theoretically. Example: "The new software is not only innovative but also functional in practice, making it a valuable tool for our team."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

The "Nabucco" was, in fact, a triumph for all concerned; the director, Elijah Moshinsky, and the designer, John Napier, put together a creatively conservative production that was monumental in appearance and functional in practice.

The New Yorker

It's novel, I'll give it that, but it's not all that functional in practice.

TechCrunch

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

The assessments of a mechanical part are of great importance to achieve the desired surface quality for functional performance in practice.

Measurement

Categorizing chronic pain into distinct groupings may meet administrative requirements, but may not be functional in clinical practice.

ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research

Commentators have noted that guidelines can be extolled and 'exhibited in practice' (functional norms) or extolled but 'ignored' (non-functional norms) [ 33].

BMC Medical Ethics

In practice, the functional cell has thousands of enzymes that have to work together.

Biology Direct

Nevertheless, toll-like receptor (TLR) dependent signals have been shown to bypass IL-1 in serum transfer arthritis [ 27] and it is possible that the IL-1R superfamily exhibits too much functional redundancy to offer utility in practice.

Arthritis Research and Therapy

The latter represents the heuristic typically followed in practice, whereby functional data is evaluated in an informal way (from the probabilistic point of view) conditional on evidence for association.

BMC Genomics

Our model of preferences nests random coefficients discrete choice models widely used in practice with parametric functional form and distributional assumptions.

Yale University

In practice this target functional has to be augmented by terms which penalize deviation from the reference surface and by a regularization term (for example, one which penalizes deviation of 2nd order differences from their previous values).

Journal of Mathematics in Industry

In practice, the actual functional responsibilities of the various levels of government are still unclear.

Health Research Policy and Systems

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When evaluating new strategies or technologies, use "functional in practice" to emphasize that their real-world performance has been validated, not just their theoretical potential.

Common error

Avoid claiming something is "functional in practice" based solely on theoretical advantages. Ensure you have concrete evidence of successful implementation and real-world results before making this assertion.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "functional in practice" serves as an adjectival modifier, describing a quality or characteristic of something. It indicates that the subject is not just theoretically sound, but also effective and useful when applied in real-world situations, as shown in Ludwig.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

50%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "functional in practice" is a phrase used to describe something that works effectively in real-world situations, as validated by Ludwig AI. Although relatively rare, it's grammatically correct and appropriate for both formal and neutral contexts, especially in science and news. Key to its use is the assurance that the described concept or item isn't merely theoretically sound but proven effective in application. Alternatives such as "effective in reality" or "practical in application" can be used to convey similar meanings. To ensure proper usage, avoid overstating theoretical benefits without real-world evidence.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

applicable in practice

Highlights the applicability, keeping practice but making it clear in what regard you can apply something.

effective in reality

Replaces "functional" with "effective" and "practice" with "reality", focusing on the actual results.

workable in the real world

Uses "workable" instead of "functional" and specifies "real world" for practical application.

practical in application

Emphasizes the application aspect, substituting "practice" with "application".

useful in actual use

Focuses on the utility of something when it's being actively used.

demonstrated in reality

Emphasizes that the functionality or effectiveness has been shown or proven in actual situations.

operative in implementation

Highlights the aspect of implementation and the effectiveness of the phrase.

viable in the field

Replaces "functional" with "viable" and specifies "the field" for practical context.

realistic in execution

Focuses on how realistic something is when it's being executed.

achievable in application

Shows the aspect of achieving some goal when it's applied.

FAQs

How can I use "functional in practice" in a sentence?

You can use "functional in practice" to describe something that not only exists as an idea, but also works well when applied. For example: "While the design looked good on paper, it wasn't very "functional in practice".

What's the difference between "functional in theory" and "functional in practice"?

"Functional in theory" means something should work based on established principles, while "functional in practice" means it has been proven to work effectively in real-world conditions.

What can I say instead of "functional in practice"?

Alternatives include "practical in application", "effective in reality", or "workable in the real world" depending on the specific context.

Is "functional in practice" a formal or informal phrase?

"Functional in practice" is suitable for both formal and informal contexts. Its appropriateness depends more on the surrounding language and the overall tone of the communication.