Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Modal

//ˈməʊdəl// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of, or relating to a mode or modus.
  2. 2
    Of, relating to, or describing the mood of a clause.
  3. 3
    Of, relating to, or composed in the musical modi by which an octave is divided, associated with emotional moods in Ancient — and in medieval ecclesiastical — music.
  4. 4
    Of, relating to, or composed in the musical modi by which an octave is divided, associated with emotional moods in Ancient — and in medieval ecclesiastical — music.; In a mode which is not major or minor scale, the standard modes used in the Western musical tradition. broadly
  5. 5
    Of, or relating to the modality between propositions.
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    Relating to the statistical mode.
  2. 7
    Having separate modes in which user input has different effects.
  3. 8
    Requiring immediate user interaction and thus presented so that it cannot be closed or interacted behind until a decision is made.

    "Dialogs can be modal, in which case the user is required to provide necessary information before work in the main window can continue, or modeless. Modeless dialogs do not prevent the user from interacting with any of the other windows in the application."

  4. 9
    Relating to the form of a thing rather to any of its attributes.
Adjective
  1. 1
    relating to or constituting the most frequent value in a distribution wordnet
  2. 2
    relating to or expressing the mood of a verb wordnet
  3. 3
    of or relating to a musical mode; especially written in an ecclesiastical mode wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A modal proposition.
  2. 2
    A semi-synthetic fabric, a very soft kind of rayon textile made from beech tree pulp and processed with chemicals. uncountable
  3. 3
    an auxiliary verb (such as ‘can’ or ‘will’) that is used to express modality wordnet
  4. 4
    A modal form, notably a modal auxiliary.
  5. 5
    A modal verb.

    "Using the same type of distributional criterion, we could argue that only a Verb (in its base form) can occur in the position marked — in (23) below to complete the sentence: (23) They/it can — [...] Conversely, the only type of word which could be used to begin a three-word sentence such as (25) below: (25) — I be frank? is a Modal: cf. [...]"

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    A modal window, one that cannot be closed until a decision is made.

    "Modal screen elements are subtrees which, when activated, disable all elements external to them. Examples of modals are yes-no message boxes and the application itself."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle French modal, from Medieval Latin modālis (“pertaining to a mode”), from Latin modus (“mode”). Compare to French, Spanish, and Portuguese modal and Italian modale. By surface analysis, mod(e) + -al.

Etymology 2

From Middle French modal, from Medieval Latin modālis (“pertaining to a mode”), from Latin modus (“mode”). Compare to French, Spanish, and Portuguese modal and Italian modale. By surface analysis, mod(e) + -al.

Etymology 3

A genericized trademark of Lenzing AG.

See also for "modal"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: modal