1
as in titular
being something in name or form only
he was the nominal head of state—everyone knew the country was actually run by one of his advisers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slight
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
when you pay $400 for an airline ticket, a ticketing fee of five dollars seems nominal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in substantive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nominal
Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
The Eagles saved a nominal amount of money after months of negotiations.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 29 May 2025
Judges could set the bond at a nominal amount, like $1.
—Caitlin Babcock, Christian Science Monitor, 28 May 2025
But cheers were somewhat subdued until about 10 minutes after launch—when operators officially determined that the spacecraft’s trajectory was nominal, taking it on a ballistic suborbital path through outer space.
—Gayoung Lee, Scientific American, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for nominal
Adjective
Also, market reaction to further tariff moves may cause Trump to retreat to the point that the effect of any tariff actions is fairly nominal.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
The Eagles saved a nominal amount of money after months of negotiations.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 29 May 2025
Judges could set the bond at a nominal amount, like $1.
—Caitlin Babcock, Christian Science Monitor, 28 May 2025
But cheers were somewhat subdued until about 10 minutes after launch—when operators officially determined that the spacecraft’s trajectory was nominal, taking it on a ballistic suborbital path through outer space.
—Gayoung Lee, Scientific American, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for nominal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nominal
Adjective
-
The titular metaphor refers to a healing herb that becomes toxic in the wrong dosage, much as love requires the right proportions to find harmony.—
Jenn Pelly,
Time,
7 June 2025
-
Leave It To Beaver premiered on CBS in 1957 and showed the Cleaver family, an All-American family with two firm but loving parents and two sons, Wally and the titular Beaver, who were always getting into trouble.—
Meredith Wilshere,
People.com,
7 June 2025
Adjective
-
Bure may not have meant it as a slight, but one of the more notable offenders was Growing Pains, which costarred her brother, Kirk Cameron.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
13 June 2025
-
In a slight twist on the usual, the chefs not only get to choose their own sous-chefs, but only those sous-chefs have been flown to Italy for the occasion.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
Noun
-
First Acts: From the symbolic to the substantive, here is a look at what nine new governors elected last year have done in their first weeks in office.—
Maggie Astor,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2023
-
With his substantive, agreeably granular bass, David Grogan gave prophetic warnings real authority.—
Dallas News,
Dallas News,
23 Dec. 2022
Adjective
-
There's the Total Sugar amount, which should be negligible.—
Amy Brightfield,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 June 2025
-
Readings were negligible, including at the entrance to the property.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
11 June 2025
Adjective
-
In 1972, the company switched to Smith, naming the shoes in his honor and printing a tiny picture of his mustachioed face on them.—
Sam Farmer,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
-
McCartney, who played a residency at New York’s tiny Bowery Ballroom back in February, has no tour dates presently on his 2025 calendar.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2025
Adjective
-
Which party is willing to set aside petty differences and ego, and work in the interests of American prosperity?—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
6 June 2025
-
This Christlike journey of scapegoating and torment ends in comeuppance for the haters and doubters, whose petty provocations tend to evoke a Bond villain in adolescence.—
Joshua Hunt,
Vulture,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nominal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nominal. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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