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verbal

adjective · noun · verb

Simple meaning

Related to having or given a form or shape.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

vurbuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈvɝbəl

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. Of or relating to or formed from a verb

    “Verbal adjectives like `running' in `hot and cold running water'”

  2. Relating to or having facility in the use of words

    “A good poet is a verbal artist.”

  3. Concerned with the words, rather than the substance of a text.

  4. Expressly spoken rather than written; oral.

  5. Consisting of words only.

  6. Capable of speech.

noun

  1. countableukireland

    A spoken confession given to police.

  2. uncountableukirelandcolloquial

    Talk; speech, especially banter or scolding.

verb

  1. transitiveBritishAustralia

    To allege (usually falsely) that someone has made an oral admission.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Of or relating to or formed from a verb

Used this way, verbal is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a grammar or language-study use: it describes how language works, so it appears in teaching and reference writing.

Heard in a sentence
“Verbal adjectives like `running' in `hot and cold running water'”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Formal
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Formal and precise

Where it naturally appears

  • Academic writing
  • Education/classroom
  • Technical/specialist writing

Usage note

Comfortable in writing and prepared speech; in casual conversation a shorter everyday word usually sounds more natural.

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

More ways to use verbal

  • “A good poet is a verbal artist.”adjective
  • “Verbal adjectives like `running' in `hot and cold running water'”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

verbal communicationverbal descriptionverbal behaviorverbal learningverbal expressionverbal abilityverbal formverbal memory

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • verbal descriptionnounCompound term

    A statement that represents something in words.

  • verbal creationnounCompound term

    Creating something by the use of speech and language.

  • verbal expressionnounCompound term

    The communication (in speech or writing) of your beliefs or opinions.

  • verbal intelligencenounCompound term

    Intelligence in the use and comprehension of language.

  • verbal nounnounCompound term

    A noun that is derived from a verb.

  • create verballyverbCompound term

    Create with or from words.

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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.