contractual

adjective

con·​trac·​tu·​al kən-ˈtrak-chə-wəl 

-chəl, 

-shwəl, 

-chü-əl

: of, relating to, or constituting a contract

contractually adverb

Examples of contractual in a Sentence

They had to fulfill their contractual obligations before they could get paid.

Recent Examples on the Web

Gjeltema turned to a program enacted under a California state law, the Mills Act that could give her home a reduction in property tax in exchange for a contractual commitment to do work to preserve the property. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 22 Nov. 2025

As Sportico has detailed, ESPN sued Dish in August for breach of contract, arguing Dish lacks the contractual authority to sell access to its channels in one-day passes, as well as passes for a weekend or week. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 20 Nov. 2025

Were there any contractual entanglements? —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025

Surrogates are sometimes unaware of the full risks or of their limited rights in the event of complications or contractual disputes. —Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin contractuālis, from Latin contractu-, stem of contractus contract entry 1 + -ālis -al entry 1

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for contractual

• artifactual
• counterfactual
• factual
• tactual

Kids Definition

contractual

adjective

con·​trac·​tu·​al kən-ˈtrak-chə(-wə)l 

kän-, 

-ˈtraksh-wəl

: of, relating to, or being a contract

contractual agreements

contractually

-ē

adverb

Legal Definition

contractual

adjective

con·​trac·​tu·​al kən-ˈtrak-chə-wəl 

: of, relating to, or constituting a contract

a contractual agreement

contractually adverb