verbal: Meaning and Definition of

ver•bal

Pronunciation: (vûr'bul), [key]
— adj.
  1. of or pertaining to words: verbal ability.
  2. consisting of or in the form of words: verbal imagery.
  3. expressed in spoken words; oral rather than written: verbal communication; verbal agreement.
  4. consisting of or expressed in words (as opposed to actions): a verbal protest.
  5. pertaining to or concerned with words only (as opposed to ideas, facts, or realities): a purely verbal distinction between two concepts.
  6. corresponding word for word; verbatim: a verbal translation.
  7. using words: verbal facility.
  8. based on the use of words (as opposed to other activity): a verbal score in a test; verbal IQ.
    1. of, pertaining to, or derived from a verb.
    2. used in a sentence as or like a verb, as participles and infinitives.
—n.
  1. a word, particularly a noun or adjective, derived from a verb.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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