adjectival

[ aj-ik-tahy-vuhl ]

/ ˌædʒ ɪkˈtaɪ vəl /

Save This Word!

adjective

of, relating to, or used as an adjective.

describing by means of many adjectives; depending for effect on intensive qualification of subject matter, as a writer, style, or essay.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of adjectival

First recorded in 1790–1800; adjective + -al¹

ad·jec·ti·val·ly, adverbnon·ad·jec·ti·val, adjectivenon·ad·jec·ti·val·ly, adverbpre·ad·jec·ti·val, adjective

pre·ad·jec·ti·val·ly, adverb

When the exact sense was lost, the suffix -al seemed to be adjectival, and the word dismal became at last an adjective.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
We should try to render this in translation, not be content with some bloodless adjectival abstraction plus "is."
Instigations|Ezra Pound
In huss, the German for goose, we may recognise the oose without its adjectival ‘g’.
Archaic England|Harold Bayley
Their adjectival energy is greater; they are more given to extravagances of style, both in point of sentiment and of humor.
Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. VIII|Various

So in the adjectival clause; as, 'He struck the poor dog, which (and it, or although it) had never done him harm.'
The Verbalist|Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)