as in basic
of or relating to the simplest facts or theories of a subject
many students lacked even a basal familiarity with the topic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of basal
Both doctors, however, said there’s not yet enough data to say whether nicotinamide supplementation is beneficial for people who have never had skin cancer, or who have had melanoma—which is less common but deadlier than basal and squamous cell disease.
—
Jamie Ducharme, Health, 26 Sep. 2025
While the researchers urge that this is no replacement for covering up and applying sunscreen to exposed skin, for people who’ve had a first basal or squamous cell carcinoma removed, a daily niacinamide regimen is emerging as a practical, inexpensive way to lower the odds of a recurrence.
—New Atlas, 18 Sep. 2025
About two minutes in, a chunk of Ship's skirt — the basal part near its engine bay — broke apart, sending debris floating into the final frontier.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The shallow sensors were thus unable to access deep brain regions—such as the hypothalamus, thalamus, basal ganglia, and limbic system—that govern hunger, thirst, sleep, pain, memory, emotions, and other important perceptions and behaviors.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for basal
Jamie Ducharme, Health, 26 Sep. 2025
While the researchers urge that this is no replacement for covering up and applying sunscreen to exposed skin, for people who’ve had a first basal or squamous cell carcinoma removed, a daily niacinamide regimen is emerging as a practical, inexpensive way to lower the odds of a recurrence.
—New Atlas, 18 Sep. 2025
About two minutes in, a chunk of Ship's skirt — the basal part near its engine bay — broke apart, sending debris floating into the final frontier.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The shallow sensors were thus unable to access deep brain regions—such as the hypothalamus, thalamus, basal ganglia, and limbic system—that govern hunger, thirst, sleep, pain, memory, emotions, and other important perceptions and behaviors.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for basal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for basal
Adjective
-
At that point, the operator would recite the most intimate details of a patient’s health history to hook her before launching into a few basic screening questions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Ross argued that allowing local police to provide basic crowd control — rather than restricting coordination — could have reduced risks during recent confrontations.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The educators at elementary, middle and high schools across the district received honorary titles as chairs of teaching excellence for one year in their respective subjects.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Tutoring elementary students is one of the best opportunities to build meaningful community relations, program officials say.—
Regina Elling,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
There, everyone comes and goes on longboats that have awnings, a row of rudimentary seats, and a small outboard motor.—
Stanley Stewart,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The medical system provides only the most rudimentary care, and hospitals have little to no medicine.—
Joseph J. Gonzalez,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Episodes are bound together by banal introductory voiceover, in which our narrator recites ominous clichés that, like everything in His & Hers, border on parody.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026
-
So, with the support of the school for developing an introductory class on archaeology, Harris-Thacker developed one.—
Helen I. Bennett,
Hartford Courant,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The underlying tension was bubbling up to the surface.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Beyond premium laptops, Intel is also rolling out mainstream Intel Core processors based on the same underlying Series 3 architecture.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This would be a fundamental acknowledgment that women’s basketball operates at the same elite level.—
Nafees Alam,
Boston Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
-
If the regime in Venezuela—without Maduro but still Chavista—rebuffs American demands, will Trump take further military action aimed at more fundamental change, which could plunge the country into factional violence?—
Comfort Ero,
Time,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Basal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/basal. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share