verbal Hear it!

verbal Definition

ver·bal (vʉrbəl)

adjective

  1. of, in, or by means of words a verbal image
  2. concerned merely with words, as distinguished from facts, ideas, or actions
  3. in speech; oral rather than written: usage objected to by some a verbal contract
  4. Now Rare word for word; verbatim a verbal translation
  5. Gram.
    1. of, or made up of, verbs a verbal auxiliary
    2. of, having the nature of, or derived from a verb a verbal noun
    3. used to form verbs -ate is a verbal suffix

Etymology: LME < MFr < LL verbalis, of a word < verbum: see verb

noun

  1. Gram. a verbal noun or some other word, as an adjective, derived from a verb: in English, gerunds, infinitives, and participles are verbals
  2. Linguis. a word or word group that occurs in grammatical functions typical of verbs

verbal Related Forms
ver·bally adverb
verbal Synonyms

verbal

modif.

  1. Using words

    lexical, linguistic, oral; see linguistic, oral, spoken.

  2. Concerning the wording, not the content

    titular, verbatim, rhetorical, diplomatic, textual, lexical; see also literal 1, nominal 1. See syn. study at oral.

verbal Synonyms

verbal

n.

Verbals in English include: infinitive, gerund, participle, gerundive, verbal noun, present participle, verbal adjective, past participle, verbal phrase, absolute construction, independent construction;

verbal Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • have: You will have first class verbal and written communication skills and the ability to manage and develop multiple accounts.

Modifies a noun

  • abuse: The whole strand is little more than an excuse for Gordon Ramsay to hurl verbal abuse at people for no good reason.
  • fluency: High levels of folate were significantly linked to verbal fluency.
  • reasoning: The tests available are: Verbal reasoning Numerical reasoning Abstract reasoning These are timed tests, each lasting 20 minutes.
  • descriptors: There are currently two schemes in the UK which provide definitions of verbal descriptors of the nutrient content of foods.
  • dexterity: And he was laughing at my verbal dexterity, saying: " You've got to watch out with this man!
  • warning: I nearly had to give her a verbal warning for coming to work dressed in an England shirt.

Modifying Another Word

  • purely: My question, I think centers around whether Evans thinks that a purely verbal proclamation is enough?
  • merely: Their ' knowledge ' is merely verbal, and Sprigge suggests that real knowledge would involve actively participating in the appropriate emotions.
  • essentially: For the moment, the confrontation within the revolutionary process with these conservative bureaucratic governmental sectors is essentially verbal.
  • only: Four months later, the participant needed only verbal assistance to execute the task.
  • just: This is just verbal camouflage behind which private shareholders are still dipping their ever-larger ladles into an increasing stream of tax revenues.
  • not: So, it's not verbal, but it is intelligent and demanding in ways which will appeal to even the most stick-in-the-mud adventurer.

Used with adjective complement

  • include: The term language, includes verbal, tonal and body languages, which underpin all cultural learning structures.
  • trump: Invitational tournament to before the game by trumping verbal.
  • cover: The test is very similar to those used by major employers and covers verbal, numerical and diagrammatic reasoning.
  • become: When I moved to secondary school I became even taller, and the abuse became purely verbal.
  • have: The best door supervisors have better verbal than physical skills.
verbal Quotes

Averbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.

—Goldwyn, Sam(uel) originally  Schmuel Gelbfisz

Browse dictionary entries near verbal

  1. verb
  2. veratrum
  3. veratrine
  4. veratridine
  5. verapamil
  6. veranda
  7. Veracruz
  8. veracity
  9. veracious
  10. Vera
  1. verbal noun
  2. verbalism
  3. verbalist
  4. verbalize
  5. verbally
  6. verbatim
  7. verbena
  8. verbiage
  9. verbid
  10. verbify