fractional
part of speech
adjective (fractional)
meaning for a pupil
1) (maths) Fractional means in the form of a fraction, or to do with fractions: «a fractional number», «fractional parts». tree →
2) Fractional means very small: «a fractional increase», «a fractional delay». tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths, fractional amounts are parts of a whole, like 3/4 or 1/2; fractional answers are not whole numbers. In science and sport, a fractional difference is very tiny, like a hundredth of a second in a race. Phrases: «fractional part», «fractional difference», «fractional increase».
examples
- A half is a fractional amount. tree →
- Give your answer in fractional form, like 2/3. tree →
- The winner was faster by a fractional amount. tree →
- Prices had a fractional rise this month. tree →
- 3.75 has a whole part of 3 and a fractional part of 0.75. tree →
- There was a fractional pause before she answered. tree →
note
In maths problems, «fractional» means not a whole number: 7 ÷ 2 = 3½ is a fractional answer. The «fractional part» of a decimal is the bit after the point. Adverb: fractionally (very slightly).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «fractional» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.