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Instrumental

6 dictionary results for: instrumental

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

in·stru·men·tal

[in-struh-men-tl] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	serving or acting as an instrument or means; useful; helpful.

2.	performed on or written for a musical instrument or instruments: instrumental music.

3.	of or pertaining to an instrument or tool.

Grammar.

a.	(in certain inflected languages, as Old English and Russian) noting or pertaining to a case having as its distinctive function the indication of means or agency, as Old English beseah blīthe andweitan “looked with a happy countenance.”

b.	noting the affix or other element characteristic of this case, or a word containing such an element.

c.	similar to such a case form in function or meaning, as the Latin instrumental ablative, gladiō, “by means of a sword.”

d.	(in case grammar) pertaining to the semantic role of a noun phrase that indicates the inanimate, nonvolitional, immediate cause of the action expressed by a verb, as the rock in The rock broke the window or in I broke the window with the rock.

–noun

Grammar.

a.	the instrumental case.

b.	a word in the instrumental case.

c.	a construction of similar meaning.

6.	a musical composition played by an instrument or a group of instruments. Compare vocal (def. 8).

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < ML instrūmentālis. See instrument, -al¹

]

—Related forms

in·stru·men·tal·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. implemental, effectual, effective.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

in·stru·men·tal (ĭn'strə-měn'tl) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Serving as a means or agency; implemental: was instrumental in solving the crime.
Of, relating to, or accomplished with an instrument or tool.
Music Performed on or written for an instrument.
Grammar Of, relating to, or being the case used typically to express means, agency, or accompaniment.
Of or relating to instrumentalism.

1. Grammar The instrumental case.
2. A word or form in the instrumental case.
Music A composition for one or more instruments, usually without vocal accompaniment.

in'stru·men'tal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

instrumental
adjective
1.	relating to or designed for or performed on musical instruments; "instrumental compositions"; "an instrumental ensemble" [ant: vocal]
2.	serving or acting as a means or aid; "instrumental in solving the crime" [syn: implemental]

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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: in·stru·men·tal
Pronunciation: "in(t)-str&-'ment-^&l
Function: adjective
: OPERANT <instrumental learning> <instrumental conditioning>

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Instrumental

In`stru*men"tal\, a. [Cf. F. instrumental.]

1. Acting as an instrument; serving as a means; contributing to promote; conductive; helpful; serviceable; as, he was instrumental in conducting the business.

The head is not more native to the heart, The hand more instrumental to the mouth. --Shak.

2. (Mus.) Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for, an instrument, esp. a musical instrument; as, instrumental music, distinguished from vocal music. "He defended the use of instrumental music in public worship." --Macaulay.

Sweet voices mix'd with instrumental sounds. --Dryden.

3. (Gram.) Applied to a case expressing means or agency; as, the instrumental case. This is found in Sanskrit as a separate case, but in Greek it was merged into the dative, and in Latin into the ablative. In Old English it was a separate case, but has disappeared, leaving only a few anomalous forms.

Instrumental errors, those errors in instrumental measurements, etc., which arise, exclusively from want of mathematical accuracy in an instrument.

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