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
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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
-
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
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Noun
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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
-
Tech has a tiny presence on the Southeast Asia 500, generating just under 3% of the list’s total revenue.—
Lionel Lim,
Fortune,
22 June 2025
-
Capture brain signals: The device's tiny electrodes pick up signals from individual neurons in the motor cortex.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 June 2025
Adjective
-
The film is described as an intense drama about two Palestinian refugees living in Athens, caught between petty scams and the hope of a better life in Germany.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
21 June 2025
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In the end, what started as a petty doormat rivalry has turned into something much more joyful.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nominal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nominal. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.
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