Langimage
English

malfunctioning

|mal/funk/tion/ing|

B2

/mælˈfʌŋkʃənɪŋ/

(malfunction)

failure to function

Base FormPluralPresent3rd Person Sing.PastPast ParticiplePresent Participle
malfunctionmalfunctionsmalfunctioningmalfunctionsmalfunctionedmalfunctionedmalfunctioning
Etymology
Etymology Information

'malfunction' originates from the prefix 'mal-' meaning 'bad' and the word 'function', which comes from Latin 'functio', meaning 'performance'.

Historical Evolution

'Malfunction' was formed in the 20th century by combining 'mal-' with 'function'.

Meaning Changes

Initially, it meant 'bad performance', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.

Meanings by Part of Speech

Verb 1

present participle of 'malfunction'.

The machine is malfunctioning and needs repair.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Adjective 1

not operating or functioning as expected.

The malfunctioning equipment caused a delay in production.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Last updated: 2025/01/11 11:35