FACULTATIVE Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

facultative

[ fak-uhl-tey-tiv ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

conferring a faculty, privilege, permission, or the power of doing or not doing something:
a facultative enactment.
left to one's option or choice; optional:
The last questions in the examination were facultative.
that may or may not take place; that may or may not assume a specified character.
Biology. having the capacity to live under more than one specific set of environmental conditions, as a plant that can lead either a parasitic or a nonparasitic life or a bacterium that can live with or without air ( obligate ).
of or relating to the faculties.

facultative

/ ˈ��æ��ə��ə��ɪ�� /

adjective

empowering but not compelling the doing of an act
philosophy that may or may not occur
insurance denoting a form of reinsurance in which the reinsurer has no obligation to accept a particular risk nor the insurer to reinsure, terms and conditions being negotiated for each reinsurance
biology able to exist under more than one set of environmental conditions Compare obligate
a facultative parasite can exist as a parasite or a saprotroph
of or relating to a faculty

facultative

/ ��ă��′ə��-��′tĭ�� /

Capable of existing under varying environmental conditions or by assuming various behaviors. Bacteria that are facultative aerobes can live in both aerobic and anaerobic environments. A facultative parasite can live independently of its usual host.
Compare obligate

Discover More

Derived Forms

ˈ�ڲ��ܱ��ٲ��پ��, adverb

Discover More

Other 51�Թ� Forms

�ڲ��u��·�ٲ�t��·�� adverb
�Դǲ�·�ڲ��u��·�ٲ�t�� adjective

Discover More

51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of facultative¹

First recorded in 1820-25; from French facultative (feminine) “conveying or granting a right or power,” from �ڲ��ܱ��é “knowledge, learning, physical or moral capacity,” ultimately from Latin �ڲ��ܱ��-, the stem of �ڲ��ܱ�� (originally a doublet of the noun �ڲ�� “ease, ease of performance or completion, facility”) “ability, power, capacity” + -ative adjective suffix; see faculty ( def ), -ive ( def )

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"Certain temperature conditions may foster all-female populations, which can be overcome through facultative parthenogenesis," he said.

From

Some species, termed facultative parthenogens, alternate between sexual and asexual reproduction.

From

On the issue of facultative reinsurance, whereby it insures bundles of risk in a job lot, Swiss Re said it expected to finalise a policy for the oil and gas sector in 2023.

From

The dragon’s birth, which came during a study of fertility, was said to result from a special type of parthenogenesis, called facultative parthenogenesis.

From

It’s known as “facultative parthenogenesis,” said scientists at the zoo, meaning “she reproduced without contribution from a male.”

From

Browse