1
as in titular
being something in name or form only
he was the nominal head of state—everyone knew the country was actually run by one of his advisers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slight
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
when you pay $400 for an airline ticket, a ticketing fee of five dollars seems nominal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in substantive
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nominal
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 12 June 2026
Not the org chart kind, which can be nominal, but the operational kind that survives a reorg.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
That means raising pay in real terms, not merely bestowing nominal bumps which can be wiped out by inflation.
—Randi Weingarten, Time, 11 June 2026
The crash's cause remained unclear Tuesday morning in the Middle East, which was still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest strain yet on the nominal ceasefire in the Iran war.
—CBS News, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for nominal
Adjective
There is a nominal story line in The Furious, which concerns two missing women and the men looking for them.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 12 June 2026
Not the org chart kind, which can be nominal, but the operational kind that survives a reorg.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
That means raising pay in real terms, not merely bestowing nominal bumps which can be wiped out by inflation.
—Randi Weingarten, Time, 11 June 2026
The crash's cause remained unclear Tuesday morning in the Middle East, which was still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest strain yet on the nominal ceasefire in the Iran war.
—CBS News, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for nominal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nominal
Adjective
-
And the streamer has not yet responded to a question from THR about who exactly, will inhabit the titular role of Simon.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2026
-
The Night Agent creator Shawn Ryan credited her with championing Gabriel Basso, leading to his casting as the show’s titular character.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Emmys’ producers passing up on even the slightest possibility of a Werner Herzog acceptance speech is sheer lunacy.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
20 June 2026
-
The team has improved so much that its 1-1 draw against powerhouse Brazil was a slight disappointment.—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
Noun
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First Acts: From the symbolic to the substantive, here is a look at what nine new governors elected last year have done in their first weeks in office.—
Maggie Astor,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2023
-
With his substantive, agreeably granular bass, David Grogan gave prophetic warnings real authority.—
Dallas News,
Dallas News,
23 Dec. 2022
Adjective
-
Prior to the start of hostilities, the war-risk premium was negligible.—
George Calhoun,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
Calling the agreement into question continuously could have far from negligible consequences indeed, given that Mexico and Canada have individually—and even more so collectively—surpassed China as America’s biggest trading partners.—
Kate Nishimura,
Footwear News,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
The tiny female hippo is already drawing comparisons to the beloved Moo Deng, the Thai baby pygmy hippo who became a global sensation in 2024.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
18 June 2026
-
Hopefully, this will help determine whether they’re sparked by an eruption from a single neutron star, or when two of these tiny but massive bodies collide.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
Instead, Defendants appear to be actively undermining the restoration of the Kennedy Center’s name, in a petty act of defiance.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
20 June 2026
-
The two deaths join a long list of other instances of Black Americans dying in interactions with police after accusations of petty criminal offenses.—
TRAVIS LOLLER,
Arkansas Online,
20 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nominal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nominal. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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