preverbal

adjective

pre·ver·bal | \ (ˌ)prē-ˈvər-bəl

How to pronounce preverbal (audio)

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Definition of preverbal

1 : occurring before the verb

2 : having not yet acquired the faculty of speech a preverbal child

Examples of preverbal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Words alone are unlikely to have much impact on these deeper, preverbal regions. — Matthew Green, Newsweek, "A Radical New Therapy Could Treat the 'Untreatable' Victims of Trauma," 23 Mar. 2017 The unit of currency for our right brain, conversely, would be the image, because the right brain is preverbal. — Adam Rogers, WIRED, "Legendary Comics Writer Alan Moore on Superheroes, The League, and Making Magic," 23 Feb. 2009

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'preverbal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Time Traveler for preverbal

The first known use of preverbal was in 1921

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