Definition of verbalnext
1
as in linguistic
of or relating to words or language the child didn't yet have the verbal skills needed to tell the doctor about the pain he was experiencing

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2
as in oral
made or carried on through speaking rather than in writing a verbal agreement carries less force than a written contract

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of verbal Taylor also threw out plenty of (verbal) invites during her press tour for The Life of a Showgirl. Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 27 June 2026 For context, late in the fourth quarter, tensions flared after Caitlin Clark and Bonner got into a verbal exchange following a foul. Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2026 Ro said interactive chatbots have technological hurdles to overcome, such as a mismatch between their verbal comments and their facial expressions. Hyung-Jin Kim, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 According to the preliminary investigation, a woman and Diguglielmo got into a verbal fight over a parking space, BSO said. Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for verbal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for verbal
Adjective
  • Learning the Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia, is also part of the French team’s program, as linguistic proximity has already proven effective with other international partners.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 4 July 2026
  • That his language was English and not American was the cause of ample anxiety for a linguistic nationalist like Webster, no less than my own as evidenced in my rejoinders to a bartender at the Boot Pub more than two centuries later.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026
Adjective
  • Cyclosporiasis is treated with the oral antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), commonly sold as Bactrim, Septra and Cotrim, taken for 10 days, according to the CDC.
    Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 6 July 2026
  • What matters more right now is staying on top of the same oral microbiome research shaping how experts think about whole-mouth health today.
    Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 6 July 2026
Adjective
  • But the highest-value layer will be people who combine financial fluency with the kind of strategic, communicative intelligence that helps the whole organization make better decisions.
    Jack O'Hara, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • The great speculators became talkative and communicative or dull, sullen, silent, and peevish.
    Owen Lamont, Fortune, 2 July 2026
Adjective
  • But Trump so far, it’s mostly been rhetorical.
    NBC news, NBC news, 28 June 2026
  • Beginning in her early teens, Joyce loved watching Kirk’s debates on Instagram, seeing in them not carefully honed rhetorical tactics but authentic civility.
    Eliza Griswold, New Yorker, 22 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Verbal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/verbal. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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