dysfunctional

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In most of these, we can see the mother-son dynamic, however frustrating or overbearing or dysfunctional, play out.

From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026

“From A to Z, from animal services to the zoo, the city is shabbier and more dysfunctional than it was three years ago,” said Cole, now a member of the Pasadena City Council.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026

To readers of “Dirtbag, Massachusetts,” Mr. Fitzgerald’s 2022 memoir about his dysfunctional childhood and hard-partying adulthood, it will come as no surprise that his parents couldn’t even agree about Johnny Appleseed.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

However, earlier this year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies argued that the rules contributed to "dysfunctional policymaking" and needed a "rethink".

From BBC • May 18, 2026

A crew composed entirely of eight amped-up, overtly aggressive oarsmen will often degenerate into a dysfunctional brawl in a boat or exhaust itself in the first leg of a long race.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown