expansional

Expansional is an English adjective describing something related to expansion or capable of expanding. It is uncommon in standard usage; writers more often use expansive, expanding, or expansionary depending on context. The form derives from expansion with the adjectival suffix -al and is more likely to appear in technical or stylistic variants than in everyday language.

In mathematics and the physical sciences, expansional is primarily a descriptive label rather than a formal term. Some authors use expansional to refer to processes, maps, or models that involve enlargement or growth, but such usage is not widely standardized. When used, expansional may be treated as synonymous with expansive or expanding, or employed to stress growth along particular directions or scales. In economics, the established term is expansionary policy; expansional is rarely used and can cause confusion with expansionary.

In materials science and thermodynamics, phrases such as expansional strain or expansional growth may appear to describe size changes with temperature or time; in such contexts the more common terms are expansive or thermal expansion.

Because expansional is non-standard, readers should consult the source for the intended meaning. See also: expansive, expansion, expansionary, expanding map.