VERBAL • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Verbal

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/vˈərbəl/ Listen

adjective

Verbal adj.

1.

Expressed in words, whether spoken or written, but commonly in spoken words; hence, spoken; oral; not written; as, a verbal contract; verbal testimony. "Made she no verbal question?" "We subjoin an engraving... which will give the reader a far better notion of the structure than any verbal description could convey to the mind."

2.

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. "And loses, though but verbal, his reward." "Mere verbal refinements, instead of substantial knowledge."

3.

Having word answering to word; word for word; literal; as, a verbal translation.

4.

Abounding with words; verbose. (Obs.)

5.

(Gram.) 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.

Verbal inspiration. See under Inspiration.

Verbal noun (Gram.), a noun derived directly from a verb or verb stem; a verbal. The term is specifically applied to infinitives, and nouns ending in -ing, esp. to the latter. See Gerund, and -ing, 2. See also, Infinitive mood, under Infinitive.

noun

Verbal n. (Gram.) A noun derived from a verb.

See images of 'Verbal'

Etymology of 'Verbal'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Verbal" Quotes from Famous Books

... of business and a mistress of intrigue. She would not, she said, dare attempt to deliver a note. It would be simpler, less dangerous for all concerned, to be at work in a corridor through which the English senorita must pass; to murmur a few words which would attract her attention; to receive a verbal message in return; and to bring it to me when she could—not to-day; that would be impossible; but to-morrow evening about nine, at which time she had already ...

— The Car of Destiny • C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson

... dipped her head in the quaint bird-like perk. "But we can have a lovely time here even alone—I mean without you. Oh, no, not without you——" And the burst of laughter that applauded her confusion was like a full colored illustration of a verbal mistake. "Now, you all know what I ...

— The Girl Scouts at Bellaire - Or Maid Mary's Awakening • Lilian C. McNamara Garis

... an hour a day, and well nigh maddens me with his crack-jaw words; but I don't seem to make much progress. If I am sent with an order, and the officer to whom I take it does not understand French, I am floored. Of course I hand the order, if it is a written one, to him. If it is not, but just some verbal message, asking him to call on the marshal at such and such a time, I generally make a horrible mess of it. He gets in a rage with me, because he cannot understand me. I get in a rage with him, for his dulness; and were it not that he generally manages to find some other officer, who does ...

— With Frederick the Great - A Story of the Seven Years' War • G. A. Henty

... of the Committee on Rules, which had already been submitted by General Garfield, was now taken up. The proposed rules embraced simply verbal changes from those of 1876, and only one change of substance. This was an addition to rule eight, relating to cases where the vote of a State is divided. The old rule prescribed that where the vote was divided the chairman of the delegation ...

— Twenty Years of Congress, Volume 2 (of 2) • James Gillespie Blaine

... these capital felonies, the president and council were authorized to hear and determine all crimes and misdemeanors, and all civil cases, without the intervention of a jury. These judicial proceedings were to be summary and verbal, and the judgment only was to be briefly registered in a book kept ...

— The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. 1-20 • Various

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