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neural

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

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r′əl /
  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.

See Examples For:

The authors add, "Different neurological disorders appear to leave different signatures on the brain aging clock, which may help researchers better understand the neural and biological pathways involved in these conditions."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026

The team then used those observations to create an artificial neural network model of the V1-LM circuit.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

But her own bet is that, over time, the sites could "reinforce the same addictive neural networks they are trying to simulate".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

The work also may help explain why irregularity is so common in natural systems, including neural, biological and ecological networks.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

Throughout adolescence, the brain is busily lining important neural pathways with a fatty sheath called myelin.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

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