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- pronunciation:
- praek
tih
k
 l
- features:
- Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| definition 1: |
If an idea is practical, it is something with a purpose in real life, or it is capable of carrying out some purpose. It's not just an idea that will never work or just lives in somebody's mind.
We need a practical solution to this problem, something we can actually do and that will work.His invention was interesting, but it never made any money because it wasn't practical. It was expensive and nobody knew what to do with it.- synonyms:
- useful
- antonyms:
- wild
- similar words:
- effective, efficient, handy
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| definition 2: |
If we call something a "practical" matter, we mean that it has to do with things that have to be taken care of right now. It's not concerned with dreams or ideas that have little connection with ordinary life in the present.
He is a great artist but not very interested in practical matters, such as how to pay his bills.- synonyms:
- ordinary, usual
- similar words:
- everyday, routine
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| definition 3: |
If someone is practical, they are concerned with things like not wasting money, or solving problems in the quickest and easiest way. They care about the everyday realities of what it takes to live.
The professor is very smart but not very practical. He doesn't know how to drive or buy a plane ticket or use a copy machine. He doesn't think about things like that. His secretary and his wife take care of all the ordinary things that need to be done.- similar words:
- efficient, productive
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| related words: |
helpful, levelheaded, reasonable |
| derivations: |
practicality (n.), practicalness (n.) |
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