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.

Two decades earlier, Lindy, for her part, made a smash, and a packet, with “My Rainbow Starts With Black,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, seemingly based on her own dysfunctional family, and its Oscar-winning film adaptation.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

In the early 2000s, television viewers first discovered "Malcolm in the Middle," the hilarious tale of a teenager trying to survive the antics of his dysfunctional family.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Over time they can enter a dysfunctional condition called T cell exhaustion, where their ability to eliminate threats declines.

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2026

The committee's chairman, Alistair Carmichael, said Defra's evidence "paints a picture of a dysfunctional system", with "unchecked meat and plant products being let in through the front door."

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

What could be dysfunctional about a mother so spiteful that she intentionally undercooks her husband’s chicken, and a father so narcissistic he gets a face-lift at forty?

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman