nominal

1 of 2

adjective

nom·​i·​nal ˈnä-mə-nᵊl 

ˈnäm-nəl

1

: of, relating to, or being a noun or a word or expression taking a noun construction

2

a

: of, relating to, or constituting a name

b

: bearing the name of a person

3

a

: existing or being something in name or form only

nominal head of his party

b

: of, being, or relating to a designated or theoretical size that may vary from the actual : approximate

the pipe's nominal size

c

: trifling, insignificant

his involvement was nominal

charged only nominal rent

4

of a rate of interest

a

: equal to the annual rate of simple interest that would obtain if interest were not compounded when in fact it is compounded and paid for periods of less than a year

b

: equal to the percentage by which a repaid loan exceeds the principal borrowed with no adjustment made for inflation

5

: being according to plan : satisfactory

everything was nominal during the launch

nominally adverb

nominal

2 of 2

noun

: a word or word group functioning as a noun

Did you know?

Something nominal exists only in name. So the nominal ruler in a constitutional monarchy is the king or queen, but the real power is in the hands of the elected prime minister. In the United Kingdom, the British monarch is also the nominal head of the Church of England; and those baptized in the Church who aren't really churchgoers might be called nominal Christians. A fee can be called nominal when it's small in comparison to the value of what it buys. So, for example, you might sell a friend a good piece of furniture for a nominal amount. And the charge for a doctor's visit might be a nominal $20, since most of the cost is covered by an insurance plan.

Synonyms

Adjective

• titular

Examples of nominal in a Sentence

Adjective

What gave it resonance was that she was reflecting—in a fun-house mirror—the thuggish behavior of her nominal betters. —Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2005

Instead they will decentralize and devolve power, and rely on the people over whom they have nominal authority to be self-organizing. —Francis Fukuyama, Atlantic, May 1999

Approaching his 68th birthday, Rockefeller had never imagined that his twilight years would be so eventful. His fortune had failed to purchase him even a poor man's mite of tranquillity. As nominal president of Standard Oil, he was in a bind, responsible for actions he had not approved. —Ron Chernow, Business Week, 18 May 1998

Each of the ten years of nominal peace saw plenty of bloodshed. —Theodore Roosevelt, The Winning of the West: 1769-1776, (1894) 1995

Her title of vice president had been nominal only.

They charge a nominal fee for the service.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The focus was to provide more attacking numbers in advanced areas to maintain territorial dominance, with a midfield pair — or ‘double pivot’ — providing the defensive foundation behind a nominal front four. —Mark Carey, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025

Alongside contemporaries including Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and Maxwell, the neo-soul class focused on recapturing the live, thick instrumentation, rich songwriting and weighted, passionate delivery of its nominal genre predecessor. —Trevor Anderson, Billboard, 22 Oct. 2025

Drake sought nominal, compensatory, and punitive damages, plus legal fees. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025

However, at least 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in debt distress or at high risk of distress, the World Bank’s recent assessment noted, with public debt in nominal terms and as a share of GDP nearly doubling over the last decade. —Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English nominalle, from Medieval Latin nominalis, from Latin, of a name, from nomin-, nomen name — more at name

Noun

derivative of nominal entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1904, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing nominal

• nominal value
• nominal wages

Rhymes for nominal

• abdominal
• phenomenal
• pronominal

Kids Definition

nominal

adjective

nom·​i·​nal

ˈnäm-ən-ᵊl,

ˈnäm-nəl

1

: being such in name or form only

the nominal head of the party

2

: very small : trifling

a nominal price

nominally

-ē

adverb

Legal Definition

nominal

adjective

nom·​i·​nal ˈnä-mən-ᵊl 

1

: existing or being something in name or form but usually not in reality

defenses…raised by the corporation as nominal defendant in a derivative suit

—R. C. Clark

2

: being so small or trivial as to be a mere token

charging a nominal fee

3

of a rate of interest

a

: equal to the annual rate of simple interest that would obtain if interest were not compounded when in fact it is compounded and paid for periods of less than a year

b

: equal to the percentage by which a repaid loan exceeds the principal borrowed with no adjustment made for inflation compare effective sense 4

nominally adverb