spatial

adjective spa·tial \ ˈspā-shəl \

variants: or less commonly spacial

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Examples: spatial in a Sentence

Definition of spatial

1 : relating to, occupying, or having the character of space

2 : of, relating to, or involved in the perception of relationships (as of objects) in space

tests of spatial ability

spatial memory

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spatiality

play \ˌspā-shē-ˈa-lə-tē\ or less commonly spaciality noun

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spatially

play \ˈspā-sh(ə-)lē\ or less commonly spacially adverb

See spatial defined for English-language learners

See spatial defined for kids

Examples of spatial in a Sentence

When patients have this kind of problem, they can't feel the relationship between their body and their feet, so they must rely on visual cues to keep themselves upright. Without these cues, they lose their spatial orientation and fall. —John Pettinato, Discover, October 2004
Williams syndrome, which was first described in 1961, results when a group of genes on one copy of chromosome 7 is deleted during embryonic development. Most people with Williams resemble each other more than they do their families, with wide-set hazel eyes, upturned noses, and wide mouths. They also share a peculiar set of mental impairments. Most stumble over the simplest spatial tasks, such as putting together a puzzle, and many not read or write beyond the level of a first grader. —U.S. News & World Report, 15 June 1998
Several new ground-based and orbiting astronomical facilities that could provide high spatial and spectral resolution appear technologically ready for development during the next several decades. —Robert D. Gehrz et al., Science, 25 May 1984
the spatial dimensions of a room

Recent Examples of spatial from the Web

Camera movements establish spatial relationships between the characters and the incredible violence around them.

— katie walsh, Detroit Free Press, "Review: ‘Sicario’ sequel is relentlessly grim," 28 June 2018
The spatial drama continues on the upper floors, where visitors can gaze down canyonlike expanses to the atrium.

— blair kamin, chicagotribune.com, "The national African-American museum still stirs the soul — and drops hints of what to expect at the Obama Presidential Center," 11 July 2018
At age 16, the children took tests measuring verbal and nonverbal memory, word recognition, executive function, visual-spatial orientation, information processing speed and fine motor skills.

— nicholas bakalar, New York Times, "Breast-Feeding Has No Impact on I.Q. by Age 16," 9 May 2018
Each patch of dough stretches horizontally under the rolling pin, separating exponentially quickly in two spatial directions.

— natalie wolchover, WIRED, "Machine Learning’s ‘Amazing’ Ability to Predict Chaos," 21 Apr. 2018
Young people with autism show a lot of folding in patches of the left temporal and parietal lobes—regions responsible for processing sound and spatial information respectively, the study found.

— rachel zamzow, Scientific American, "Brains of Children with Autism Show Unusual Folding Patterns," 9 July 2018
The differing levels provide a sort of spatial separation between the functions of the home, while interior courtyards further integrate the landscape into the home’s design.

— alex bazeley, Curbed, "Cool concrete summer home sits among a sea of trees," 3 July 2018
The problem is that the spatial resolution of this model is too coarse to include a detailed representation of the topography of Aphrodite Terra.

— scott k. johnson, Ars Technica, "Huge wave in Venus’ clouds changes the length of a day," 22 June 2018
More impressive were the verbs; more impressive still was the language of mood and emotion and spatial relations — more and sad and in and stupid and please and hurry and out.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "Koko the Gorilla Wasn't Human, But She Taught Us So Much About Ourselves," 21 June 2018

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