1
as in linguistic
of or relating to words or language
the child didn't yet have the verbal skills needed to tell the doctor about the pain he was experiencing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in oral
made or carried on through speaking rather than in writing
a verbal agreement carries less force than a written contract
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 verbal
These include verbal and cyber attacks and recently sending drones toward Lithuania.
—
Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
An April survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows verbal and written communication skills are at the top of the wishlist for what employers want to see on recent college graduates’ resumes.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 28 May 2026
The two men then got into a verbal argument that eventually turned physical.
—Jessica Riley, CBS News, 28 May 2026
In some other cases reviewed by reporters, officers were disciplined, but received little more than verbal warnings or orders to get additional training.
—Clare Amari, New York Times, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for verbal
Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
An April survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows verbal and written communication skills are at the top of the wishlist for what employers want to see on recent college graduates’ resumes.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 28 May 2026
The two men then got into a verbal argument that eventually turned physical.
—Jessica Riley, CBS News, 28 May 2026
In some other cases reviewed by reporters, officers were disciplined, but received little more than verbal warnings or orders to get additional training.
—Clare Amari, New York Times, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for verbal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for verbal
Adjective
-
The working-age population is increasing, owing to consistent employment growth and a steady flow of migrants who are often highly skilled and actively recruited, and tend to come from bordering countries that have significant cultural and linguistic overlaps with Switzerland.—
Jessi Jezewska Stevens,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
-
Some of us said at the time that politicians should use everyday language understood by most people, rather than push into new linguistic frontiers on behalf of progressive activists.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
His command over oral storytelling grips all those who join him on his walking tours of Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham, the historic epicenter of the nation’s Civil Rights Movement.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
-
Allergen immunotherapy as a shot or oral tablet can be given to work with an immune system to prevent flare ups of hay fever, asthma or even eczema.—
Dr. Daniel DiGiacomo,
Boston Herald,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
According to the researchers, the findings suggest that infants become sensitive to the communicative and intentional nature of human gaze during the first year of life.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
1 June 2026
-
Being multiliterate also implies that the contemporary hypertext and hypermedia user is endowed with a capacity of discernment regarding which semiotic modes can be most efficiently employed to carry a specific communicative load.—
Carmen Daniela Maier,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
There has never quite been a critical or scholarly consensus about them, but Bellini, whose music is suspended somewhere between Rossini’s precise brilliance and Donizetti’s rhetorical force, can move audiences with his melodic facility.—
Arya Roshanian,
The New York Review of Books,
6 June 2026
-
Those include rhetorical shifts, partnerships with brokerage platforms and teaming up with companies to develop necessary infrastructure.—
Davis Giangiulio,
CNBC,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Verbal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/verbal. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
