titular

1 of 2

adjective

tit·​u·​lar ˈti-chə-lər 

ˈtich-lər

1

a

: having the title and usually the honors belonging to an office or dignity without the duties, functions, or responsibilities

the titular head of a political party

b

: existing in title only

especially : bearing a title derived from a defunct ecclesiastical jurisdiction (such as an episcopal see)

a titular bishop

2

: of, relating to, or constituting a title

the titular hero of the play

3

: bearing a title : titled

titularly adverb

titular

2 of 2

noun

: a person holding a title

Synonyms

Adjective

• formal
• nominal
• paper

Examples of titular in a Sentence

Adjective

Although retired, he remains the titular chairman of the company.

he's the titular head of the department, though it's the assistant managers who largely run things around here

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

All do so, apart from the titular madman, who has a mysterious reason to stay behind. —Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 20 June 2025

Netflix Bernthal will be appearing alongside Tom Holland as the titular Spider-Man with Zendaya and Jacob Batalon returning as MJ and Ned as well. —Jeremy Hanna, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025

Tom Holland returns as the titular web-slinger in his fourth Spider-Man movie, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and set to hit theaters on July 31, 2026. —Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 20 June 2025

The last act of Elio sees the titular space traveler teleport back to Earth after unsuccessfully trying to dupe Grigon with a clone of Glordon. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 20 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Latin titulus title

First Known Use

Adjective

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1540, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for titular

• capitular

Kids Definition

titular

adjective

tit·​u·​lar

ˈtich-(ə-)lər

: being something in title only : nominal

the titular head of state

titularly adverb