textual

adjective

tex·​tu·​al ˈteks-chə-wəl How to pronounce textual (audio)
-chəl
: of, relating to, or based on a text
textuality noun
textually adverb

Did you know?

Before the invention of the printing press, books were produced by hand. When the text of a book is copied this way, textual errors can creep in, and a text that's been copied again and again can contain many such errors. By comparing different copies of a work, textual critics try to figure out where the copyists went wrong and restore the text to its original form so that modern readers can again enjoy the correct versions of ancient texts. When a class performs textual analysis of a poem, however, they are looking closely at its individual words and phrases in an effort to determine the poem's meanings.

Examples of textual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Artistic director Barry Edelstein prepared the accessible and highly gripping two-part adaptation and directed the production with a combination of textual care, theatrical boldness and inspiring public-mindedness that invited San Diegans into the collaborative process. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024 Autonomous vehicles could make split-second decisions by integrating visual, auditory, and textual data. Sandy Carter, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024 Echoing yet inverting earlier textual accounts of women’s behavior, the paper suggested that the tracking revealed the untrustworthiness of young women. Jacqueline D. Wernimont, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024 While LLMs are centered on our digital world—creating content or deriving insights from textual or visual data—LQMs drive impact on the physical world and the financial-services sector. Jack Hidary, TIME, 11 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for textual 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English textuel, from Medieval Latin textus text

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of textual was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near textual

Cite this Entry

“Textual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/textual. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

textual

adjective
tex·​tu·​al ˈteks-chə(-wə)l How to pronounce textual (audio)
: of, relating to, or based on a text
textuality
ˌteks-chə-ˈwal-ət-ē
noun
textually
ˈtek-chə-(wə)l-ē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on textual

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