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topical

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Local to a particular place.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tahpuhkuhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɑpəkəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Relating to a topic or subject of current interest.

  2. Relating to a particular topic or subject.

  3. Arranged according to topic or theme; thematic.

  4. Local to a particular place.

noun

  1. A substance, especially a medication, applied externally (to the surface of the skin or eye).

  2. A joke dealing with current events or topical subjects.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Relating to a topic or subject of current interest.

Used this way, topical is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use topical

  • “A detailed record on both a chronological and a topical basis.”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

topical anesthesiatopical anesthetictopical applicationtopical treatmenttopical therapytopical interesttopical indexafter topical

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • topical anesthesianounCompound term

    Loss of sensation confined to the skin or mucous surfaces (as when benzocaine or Lidocaine is applied to the surface).

  • topical anestheticnounCompound term

    Anesthetic that numbs a particular area of the body.

  • topical prostaglandin eyedropnounCompound term

    A treatment for glaucoma.

  • topical anaestheticnounCompound term

    Anesthetic that numbs a particular area of the body.

  • topical anaesthesianounCompound term

    Loss of sensation confined to the skin or mucous surfaces (as when benzocaine or Lidocaine is applied to the surface).

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: substance or especially a medication

current

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.