Verbal
['vɜːb(ə)l] or ['vɝbl]
Definition
(adj.) communicated in the form of words; 'verbal imagery'; 'a verbal protest' .
(adj.) prolix; 'you put me to forget a lady's manners by being so verbal'- Shakespeare .
(adj.) relating to or having facility in the use of words; 'a good poet is a verbal artist'; 'a merely verbal writer who sacrifices content to sound'; 'verbal aptitude' .
(adj.) expressed in spoken words; 'a verbal contract' .
(adj.) of or relating to or formed from a verb; 'verbal adjectives like `running' in `hot and cold running water'' .
(adj.) of or relating to or formed from words in general; 'verbal ability' .
Checked by Groves--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Expressed in words, whether spoken or written, but commonly in spoken words; hence, spoken; oral; not written; as, a verbal contract; verbal testimony.
(a.) Consisting in, or having to do with, words only; dealing with words rather than with the ideas intended to be conveyed; as, a verbal critic; a verbal change.
(a.) Having word answering to word; word for word; literal; as, a verbal translation.
(a.) Abounding with words; verbose.
(a.) Of or pertaining to a verb; as, a verbal group; derived directly from a verb; as, a verbal noun; used in forming verbs; as, a verbal prefix.
(n.) A noun derived from a verb.
Editor: Ned
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Oral, spoken, unwritten, parole, nuncupative, not written.[2]. As to words, about words.[3]. Literal, word for word.[4]. Derived from a verb.
Checked by Clifton
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Oral, spoken, parole, vocal, unwritten, unrecorded
ANT:Written, documentary, epistolary, recorded
Typed by Helga
Examples
- It had grammatical forms and verbal devices of some complexity. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Topsy had an uncommon verbal memory, and committed with a fluency that greatly encouraged her instructress. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Instead of applying the test of human need, they apply a verbal and logical consistency. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Pictorial and sculptured record and _verbal tradition_ began. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- This was another common procedure on the part of the ladies of the Hole, when heated by verbal or fistic altercation. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- But this is only a verbal opposition. Plato. The Republic.
- Then I playfully tried verbal instruction in domestic matters, as we walked about on a Saturday afternoon. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- A great deal; for there is certainly a danger of our getting unintentionally into a verbal opposition. Plato. The Republic.
- To this I sent a verbal message saying that, if Pemberton desired it, I would meet him in front of McPherson's corps at three o'clock that afternoon. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- My guardian delicately dismissed this remark without making any verbal answer. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- This, and my being esteemed a pretty good _rig-ite_, that is, a jocular verbal satirist, supported my consequence in the society. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Not as a business matter, for these arrangements are usually verbal, and there was no earthly business reason why this should be an exception. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- You required a verbal explanation. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Verbal tradition was developed to its highest possibility by the bards. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- A short time before midnight I gave him verbal instructions for the night. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
Typist: Martha