as in slightly
in a very small quantity or degree
although the more expensive TV set is nominally better than the other, it's not worth the big difference in price
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Recent Examples of nominally
What’s left at the Education Department Many of the program transfers have at least nominally kept the Education Department in charge of oversight and policy while moving everyday operations to the other agencies.
—
Alia Wong, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2026
All these shows are nominally about sports.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026
Each combustion turbine generator will be nominally rated at 62 megawatts (of electrical power.
—Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 June 2026
This novel is nominally about an interstellar voyage.
—Emma Sarappo, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
Both keep the consumer nominally in control by capping what the agent may spend.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
The off-topic comment came during an Oval Office event nominally centered on his signing of legislation to give $70 billion in taxpayer funds to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other aspects of his mass deportation and immigrant detention agenda.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
That’s more Premier League goals than Didier Drogba, who was nominally a centre-forward, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who spent eight seasons at Manchester United across two spells.
—New York Times, 10 June 2026
Space agency officials outlined plans for the flight on Tuesday, which will include three separate launches and nominally two dockings in low-Earth orbit.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
Alia Wong, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2026
All these shows are nominally about sports.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026
Each combustion turbine generator will be nominally rated at 62 megawatts (of electrical power.
—Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 June 2026
This novel is nominally about an interstellar voyage.
—Emma Sarappo, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
Both keep the consumer nominally in control by capping what the agent may spend.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
The off-topic comment came during an Oval Office event nominally centered on his signing of legislation to give $70 billion in taxpayer funds to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other aspects of his mass deportation and immigrant detention agenda.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
That’s more Premier League goals than Didier Drogba, who was nominally a centre-forward, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who spent eight seasons at Manchester United across two spells.
—New York Times, 10 June 2026
Space agency officials outlined plans for the flight on Tuesday, which will include three separate launches and nominally two dockings in low-Earth orbit.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nominally
slightly
Adverb
-
Across the full sample, those with insecure attachments reported wanting slightly larger families than those with secure ones, and insecure attachment was likewise modestly associated with having more children.—
Rachel Nuwer,
Scientific American,
20 June 2026
-
While the numbers of comedies on the ballot stayed almost level with last year (up very slightly to 71 from 69), dramas dropped from 126 in 2025 to 110 this year, and limited/anthology series are down to 31, from 44 last year.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nominally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nominally. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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