instrumental

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English instrumental, instrumentale, from Medieval Latin īnstrūmentālis, equivalent to instrument +‎ -al. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɪnstɹəˈmɛntəl/, /ɪnstɹʊˈmɛntəl/ Rhymes: -ɛntəl === Adjective === instrumental (comparative more instrumental, superlative most instrumental) Essential or central; of great importance or relevance. Serving as an instrument, medium, means, or agency. (music) Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for an instrument, especially a musical instrument (rather than the human voice). (grammar) Applied to a case expressing means or agency, generally corresponding to the English use of prepositions such as by, with, through, or by means of with the objective case. ==== Antonyms ==== noninstrumental ==== Coordinate terms ==== (serving as a means): final (music): vocal, a cappella ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== instrument ==== Translations ==== === Noun === instrumental (plural instrumentals) (grammar) The instrumental case. (music) A composition written or performed without lyrics or singing, using a lead instrument to replace vocals. (music) A pause in the vocals of a song, usually occurring midway through, in which a musical instrument replaces the vocals. ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === “instrumental”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “instrumental”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. == Catalan == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin īnstrūmentālis. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [ins.tɾu.mənˈtal] IPA(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ins.tɾu.menˈtal] === Adjective === instrumental m or f (masculine and feminine plural instrumentals) instrumental ==== Derived terms ==== instrumentalitzar ==== Related terms ==== instrument === Noun === instrumental m (uncountable) (grammar) instrumental (medicine) (set of) instruments === Further reading === “instrumental”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007 == French == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Late Latin īnstrūmentālis. By surface analysis, instrument +‎ -al. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɛ̃s.tʁy.mɑ̃.tal/ === Adjective === instrumental (feminine instrumentale, masculine plural instrumentaux, feminine plural instrumentales) instrumental ==== Derived terms ==== instrumentaliser === Noun === instrumental m (plural instrumentaux) (grammar) instrumental case, instrumental Coordinate terms: accusatif, génitif, locatif, nominatif, vocatif === Descendants === → Turkish: enstrümantal === Further reading === “instrumental”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == German == === Etymology === Borrowed from French instrumental. Equivalent to Instrument +‎ -al. === Pronunciation === Rhymes: -aːl === Adjective === instrumental (strong nominative masculine singular instrumentaler, not comparable) (music) instrumental Antonym: nichtinstrumental ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “instrumental” in Duden online “instrumental”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German) == Indonesian == === Etymology === Borrowed from Dutch instrumentaal, from French instrumental, from Medieval Latin īnstrūmentālis. === Pronunciation === (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ɪnstruˈmɛntal/ [ɪns.t̪ruˈmen̪.t̪al] Rhymes: -ɛntal === Adjective === instrumental (comparative lebih instrumental, superlative paling instrumental) instrumental: (music) pertaining to, made by, or prepared for an instrument, especially a musical instrument (rather than the human voice) (linguistics) applied to a case expressing means or agency ==== Related terms ==== === Further reading === “instrumental”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016 == Middle English == === Alternative forms === instrumentale, instrumentall === Etymology === From Medieval Latin instrumentālis; equivalent to instrument +‎ -al. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /inˌstrumɛnˈtal/, /inˈstrumɛntal/ IPA(key): /ˌinstruˈmɛntal/ (by analogy with instrument) === Adjective === instrumental (rare) Resembling an instrument in role; instrumental (serving as a means) Resembling an instrument in use (i.e. being used as a tool) Resembling a (specific kind of) instrument in appearance. ==== Descendants ==== English: instrumental ==== References ==== “instrū̆mentāl, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 September 2018. == Portuguese == === Pronunciation === Rhymes: -al, -aw Hyphenation: ins‧tru‧men‧tal === Adjective === instrumental m or f (plural instrumentais, sometimes comparable) (comparable) instrumental (acting as an instrument) (music, not comparable) instrumental (having no singing) (grammar, not comparable) instrumental (pertaining to the instrumental case) ==== Derived terms ==== instrumentalmente === Noun === instrumental m (plural instrumentais) (uncountable, grammar) instrumental (grammatical case) (countable, music) instrumental (composition without singing) === Further reading === “instrumental”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Romanian == === Alternative forms === инструментал (instrumental) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling === Etymology === Borrowed from French instrumental. By surface analysis, instrument +‎ -al. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌin.stru.menˈtal/ Rhymes: -al Hyphenation: in‧stru‧men‧tal === Adjective === instrumental m or n (feminine singular instrumentală, masculine plural instrumentali, feminine/neuter plural instrumentale) instrumental ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “instrumental”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026 == Serbo-Croatian == === Noun === ȉnstrumentāl m inan (Cyrillic spelling и̏нструмента̄л) (grammar) the instrumental case (music) a composition made for instruments only or a (version of some) song in which only the instruments are heard ==== Declension ==== == Slovene == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /íːnstrumɛntal/, /instrumɛntáːl/ === Noun === ȋnstrumental or instrumentȃl m inan (grammar) instrumental case Synonym: orodnik (music) instrumental music ==== Declension ==== This noun needs an inflection-table template. === Further reading === “instrumental”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026 == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /instɾumenˈtal/ [ĩns.t̪ɾu.mẽn̪ˈt̪al] Rhymes: -al Syllabification: ins‧tru‧men‧tal === Adjective === instrumental m or f (masculine and feminine plural instrumentales) instrumental ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === “instrumental”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025