nom·i·nal
ˈnä-mə-nᵊl 
ˈnäm-nəl
1
: of, relating to, or being a noun or a word or expression taking a noun construction
2
a
: of, relating to, or constituting a name
b
: bearing the name of a person
3
a
: existing or being something in name or form only
nominal head of his party
b
: of, being, or relating to a designated or theoretical size that may vary from the actual : approximate
the pipe's nominal size
c
: trifling, insignificant
his involvement was nominal
charged only nominal rent
4
of a rate of interest
a
: equal to the annual rate of simple interest that would obtain if interest were not compounded when in fact it is compounded and paid for periods of less than a year
b
: equal to the percentage by which a repaid loan exceeds the principal borrowed with no adjustment made for inflation
5
: being according to plan : satisfactory
everything was nominal during the launch
nominally
adverb
Did you know?
Something nominal exists only in name. So the nominal ruler in a constitutional monarchy is the king or queen, but the real power is in the hands of the elected prime minister. In the United Kingdom, the British monarch is also the nominal head of the Church of England; and those baptized in the Church who aren't really churchgoers might be called nominal Christians. A fee can be called nominal when it's small in comparison to the value of what it buys. So, for example, you might sell a friend a good piece of furniture for a nominal amount. And the charge for a doctor's visit might be a nominal $20, since most of the cost is covered by an insurance plan.
Synonyms
Examples of nominal in a Sentence
Adjective
What gave it resonance was that she was reflecting—in a fun-house mirror—the thuggish behavior of her nominal betters.
—
Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2005
Instead they will decentralize and devolve power, and rely on the people over whom they have nominal authority to be self-organizing.
—Francis Fukuyama, Atlantic, May 1999
Approaching his 68th birthday, Rockefeller had never imagined that his twilight years would be so eventful. His fortune had failed to purchase him even a poor man's mite of tranquillity. As nominal president of Standard Oil, he was in a bind, responsible for actions he had not approved.
—Ron Chernow, Business Week, 18 May 1998
Each of the ten years of nominal peace saw plenty of bloodshed.
—Theodore Roosevelt, The Winning of the West: 1769-1776, (1894) 1995
Her title of vice president had been nominal only.
They charge a nominal fee for the service.
Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2005
Instead they will decentralize and devolve power, and rely on the people over whom they have nominal authority to be self-organizing.
—Francis Fukuyama, Atlantic, May 1999
Approaching his 68th birthday, Rockefeller had never imagined that his twilight years would be so eventful. His fortune had failed to purchase him even a poor man's mite of tranquillity. As nominal president of Standard Oil, he was in a bind, responsible for actions he had not approved.
—Ron Chernow, Business Week, 18 May 1998
Each of the ten years of nominal peace saw plenty of bloodshed.
—Theodore Roosevelt, The Winning of the West: 1769-1776, (1894) 1995
Her title of vice president had been nominal only.
They charge a nominal fee for the service.
Recent Examples on the Web
Quartz Bot, Quartz, 7 Nov. 2024
And, on a more abstract level, a 4.2% 10-year yield isn’t out of line with a U.S. economy now operating at a 5.5% nominal GDP growth pace (based on current GDP tracking models and prevailing headline inflation rates).
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2024
The historical society is leasing the space from the park district for 99 years at the nominal rate of a dollar per year, Ettelson said.
—Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2024
However, this collection of articles covers the vulgar and hypocritical parade of politics during the Roaring ’20s, when Prohibition was the nominal law of the land.
—Ben Jacobs, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nominal 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
The sponsor's fee is set at an annual nominal rate of 0.40% of the euro in the Trust.
—Quartz Bot, Quartz, 7 Nov. 2024
And, on a more abstract level, a 4.2% 10-year yield isn’t out of line with a U.S. economy now operating at a 5.5% nominal GDP growth pace (based on current GDP tracking models and prevailing headline inflation rates).
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2024
The historical society is leasing the space from the park district for 99 years at the nominal rate of a dollar per year, Ettelson said.
—Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2024
However, this collection of articles covers the vulgar and hypocritical parade of politics during the Roaring ’20s, when Prohibition was the nominal law of the land.
—Ben Jacobs, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nominal
Dictionary Entries Near nominal
Cite this Entry
“Nominal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nominal. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
nominal
adjective
nom·i·nal
ˈnä-mən-ᵊl
1
: existing or being something in name or form but usually not in reality
defenses…raised by the corporation as nominal defendant in a derivative suit—R. C. Clark
R. C. Clark2
: being so small or trivial as to be a mere token
charging a nominal fee
3
of a rate of interest
a
: equal to the annual rate of simple interest that would obtain if interest were not compounded when in fact it is compounded and paid for periods of less than a year
b
: equal to the percentage by which a repaid loan exceeds the principal borrowed with no adjustment made for inflation compare effective sense 4
nominally
adverb
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