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Synonyms

neural

American  
[noor-uhl, nyoor-] / ˈnʊər əl, ˈnyʊər- /

adjective

  1. of or relating to a nerve or the nervous system.


neural British  
/ ˈnjʊərəl /

adjective

  1. of or relating to a nerve or the nervous system

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

neural Scientific  
/ nrəl /
  1. Relating to the nerves or nervous system.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of neural

First recorded in 1830–40; neur- + -al 1

Explanation

Something described as neural has to do with your body's nervous system, particularly your nerves. When you stub your toe, a neural signal is sent to your brain to tell you how much it hurts. The word neural has a Greek root, neuron, or "nerve." This scientific term is sometimes used interchangeably with neurological for anything connected with the entire nervous system. Neural pathways describe the route messages take through your nerves and spinal cord to your brain, and a neural disorder is an ailment that affects that part of your body.

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Vocabulary lists containing neural

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The company, founded in 2021, originally planned to build a wearable device with a neural interface that could capture brain signals to control a computer or smartphone.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

"We initially assumed the issue had to do with neural network's architecture," says Ananyae Kumar Bhartari, a graduate of Penn Engineering's Scientific Computing master's program and the paper's other co-first author.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2026

Deep learning is a form of AI that uses layers of neural networks—computer programs that mimic structures in the brain—to solve complex problems.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

The researchers developed a physics based neural network that can run on a standard desktop computer.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026

Musicians tend to have greater word memory and more complex neural brain patterning, as well as greater organizational and higher-order executive functioning.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

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