nominal

1 of 2

adjective

nom·​i·​nal ˈnä-mə-nᵊl How to pronounce nominal (audio)
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.

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
Debit card users will have to pay nominal processing fees, but all crypto withdrawals are lightning-fast and fee-free. Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 His exoneration could restore your faith in humanity. March 2, 2024 The families were sometimes paid nominal cash amounts, as the Nazis feigned administrative legitimacy for their systematic theft of Jewish wealth, but the same families were precluded from taking cash out of the country. Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for nominal 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nominal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of nominal was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near nominal

Cite this Entry

“Nominal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nominal. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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
adverb

Legal Definition

nominal

adjective
nom·​i·​nal ˈnä-mən-ᵊl How to pronounce nominal (audio)
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 suitR. 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

More from Merriam-Webster on nominal

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