Definition of Facultative

1. Adjective. Of or relating to the mental faculties.

Partainyms: Faculty

2. Adjective. Able to exist under more than one set of conditions. "A facultative parasite can exist as a parasite or a saprophyte"
Category relationships: Biological Science, Biology
Antonyms: Obligate

3. Adjective. Granting a privilege or permission or power to do or not do something. "A facultative enactment"
Similar to: Enabling

4. Adjective. Not compulsory. "Facultative courses in the sciences"
Similar to: Optional

Definition of Facultative

1. a. Having relation to the grant or exercise faculty, or authority, privilege, license, or the like hence, optional; as, facultative enactments, or those which convey a faculty, or permission; the facultative referendum of Switzerland is one that is optional with the people and is necessary only when demanded by petition; facultative studies; -- opposed to obligatory and compulsory, and sometimes used with to.

Definition of Facultative

1. Adjective. Of or relating to faculty, especially to mental faculty ¹

2. Adjective. Not obligate; optional, discretionary or elective ¹

3. Adjective. That grants permission or power to do something ¹

4. Adjective. (biology) Able to grow in or outside of a host or host cell ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Facultative

1. [adj]

Medical Definition of Facultative

1. Of parasites, optional. Compare: obligate. (09 Oct 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Facultative

factualist
factualists
factualities
factuality
factually
factualness
factualnesses
factum
factums
facture
factures
facty
facula
faculae
facular
facultative (current term)
facultative aerobe
facultative anaerobe
facultative biped
facultative bipeds
facultative heterochromatin
facultative hyperopia
facultative parasite
facultative ponds
facultative quadruped
facultative quadrupeds
facultative species
facultatively
faculties
faculty

Literary usage of Facultative

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Collected Mathematical Papers of James Joseph Sylvester by James Joseph Sylvester (1908)
"Thus the whole of space will be divided into two parts, separated by the surface G = 0, which may be termed respectively facultative and non-facultative (as ..."

2. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1905)
"Thus spore formation and non-spore formation by 1 and 2 in the hundreds place; aerobic-facultative anaerobic and anaerobic by 1 and 2 in the tens place, ..."

3. Principles of surgery by Nicholas Senn (1895)
"A facultative anaerobic microorganism grows and develops either in the presence of ... thrive within tlic living body, are called facultative parasites. ..."

4. The Germ-plasm: A Theory of Heredity by August Weismann (1893)
"facultative OR POLYGENETIC REGENERATION The tail of a lizard or the limb of a Triton grows again when it has been cut off, but the part amputated does not ..."

5. International Government: Two Reports by Leonard Woolf (1916)
"facultative enforcement by overwhelming majority of legislation carried by overwhelming majorities even if of primary importance, and not ratified by a ..."

6. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and (1910)
"... pigments occlude oxygen, while others do not, may have bearings on the facultative ... facultative ..."

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