Optional

/ˈɒp.ʃə.nəl/ · adjective

Meaning

Not compulsory; left to personal choice; elective..

Definitions by Sense

1. Not compulsory; left to personal choice; elective.
2. Something that is not compulsory, especially part of an academic course.
3. (programming, sometimes capitalized) In various programming languages, a kind of variable that is assigned a specific data type but may or may not hold an actual value.

Example Sentences

On that beach clothing is entirely optional.

Do you need to wear eyeliner? As with any makeup step, eyeliner is completely optional. From an artistic perspective, if you are wearing eyeshadow, I almost always recommend wearing eyeliner, unless your eyelids and eyelashes are obscured by the eyebrow area. Eyeliner is a basic part of an eye-makeup design because it shapes and defines the eyes and makes the eyelashes look thicker.

In functional languages, there is a data type called the option type, also called the maybe type. Its purpose is to encapsulate a value, which is returned from a function. […] In Java 8, the Optional class has been added to serve as an option type.

Synonyms for optional

Antonyms for optional

Related Words

Word Forms

• optionals

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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