[vur-buh
l] 
| 1. | of or pertaining to words: verbal ability. |
| 2. | consisting of or in the form of words: verbal imagery. |
| 3. | expressed in spoken words; oral rather than written: verbal communication; verbal agreement. |
| 4. | consisting of or expressed in words (as opposed to actions): a verbal protest. |
| 5. | pertaining to or concerned with words only (as opposed to ideas, facts, or realities): a purely verbal distinction between two concepts. |
| 6. | corresponding word for word; verbatim: a verbal translation. |
| 7. | using words: verbal facility. |
| 8. | based on the use of words (as opposed to other activity): a verbal score in a test; verbal IQ. |
| 9. | Grammar.
|
| 10. | Grammar. a word, particularly a noun or adjective, derived from a verb. |
| ver·bal (vûr'bəl) adj.
A verbal noun or adjective. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin verbālis, from Latin verbum, word; see verb.] ver'bal·ly adv. Usage Note: Verbal has been used since the 16th century to refer to spoken, as opposed to written, communication, and the usage cannot be considered incorrect. But because verbal may also mean "by linguistic means," it may be ambiguous in some contexts. Thus the phrase modern technologies for verbal communication may refer only to devices such as radio, the telephone, and the loudspeaker, or it may refer to devices such as the telegraph, the teletype, and the fax machine. In such contexts it may be clearer to use the word oral to convey the narrower sense of communication by spoken means. |