nominal.

1. Existing or described by a name or title without the corresponding substance or effective power.

2. So small an amount as to be chiefly a token rather than a substantial charge or payment.

3. Relating to a name or to identification by name.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• nominal authority
• nominal independence

On the page

His nominal authority ended wherever his sister’s decisions began.

The district retained nominal independence while its accounts were controlled elsewhere.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more nominal; superlative most nominal where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.