If something is fractional, it is very small in size or degree.
...a fractional hesitation.
fractionally (frækʃənli)adverb
Murphy, Sinclair's young team-mate, was fractionally behind him.
fractional in British English
(ˈfrækʃənəl) or fractionary (ˈfrækʃənərɪ)
adjective
1.
relating to, containing, or constituting one or more fractions
2.
of or denoting a process in which components of a mixture are separated by exploiting differences in their physical properties, such as boiling points, solubility, etc
fractional distillation
fractional crystallization
3.
very small or insignificant
4.
broken up; fragmented
Derived forms
fractionally (ˈfractionally)
adverb
fractional in American English
(ˈfrækʃənəl)
adjective
1.
of or forming a fraction or fractions
2.
very small; unimportant; insignificant
3. Chemistry
designating or of any of various processes for separating the constituents of a mixture by taking advantage of differences in their solubility, boiling points, etc.
fractional distillation
Also ˈfractionˌary
Derived forms
fractionally (ˈfractionally)
adverb
Examples of 'fractional' in a sentence
fractional
After a fractional pause I said: `I've got a key for the gates.
Howatch, Susan ABSOLUTE TRUTHS (2003)
The man behind the thorns heard the birds ' song and paused, allowing himself a fractional remission from the consuming fear.
Salley Vickers MR GOLIGHTLY'S HOLIDAY (2003)
However, after a fractional pause, it was the vicar who answered, his voice neutral.
Penn, John WIDOW'S END (2003)
The same half moonlight of the night before, a fractional gradient brighter, maybe.
Leeson, Robert GENIE ON THE LOOSE (2003)
In other languages
fractional
British English: fractional ADJECTIVE
If something is fractional, it is very small in size or degree.
...a fractional hesitation.
American English: fractional
Brazilian Portuguese: fracional
Chinese: 微小的
European Spanish: mínimo
French: infime
German: geringfügig
Italian: minimo
Japanese: わずかな
Korean: 소부분의
European Portuguese: fracionário
Latin American Spanish: mínimo
All related terms of 'fractional'
fractional note
a banknote in a denomination smaller than the standard unit of currency
fractional currency
paper or metal money of smaller denomination than the standard monetary unit
fractional extraction
Fractional extraction is a process of extracting a liquid from a liquid, in which two solutes are separated , with one leaving in the extract and one in the raffinate.
fractional crystallization
the process of separating the components of a solution on the basis of their different solubilities , by means of evaporating the solution until the least soluble component crystallizes out
fractional distillation
the process of separating the constituents of a liquid mixture by heating it and condensing separately the components according to their different boiling points
Möbius transformation
a map of the complex plane to itself in which a point z is mapped to a point w by w = ( az + b )/( cz + d ), where a, b, c , and d are complex numbers and ad − bc does not equal zero