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Webster 1913 Edition

Instrumental

Inˊstru-men′tal

,
Adj.
[Cf. F.
instrumental
.]
1.
Acting as an instrument; serving as a means; contributing to promote; conductive; helpful; serviceable;
as, he was
instrumental
in conducting the business
.
The head is not more native to the heart,
The hand more
instrumental
to the mouth.
Shakespeare
2.
(Mus.)
Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for, an instrument, esp. a musical instrument;
as,
instrumental
music, distinguished from
vocal
music
.
“He defended the use of instrumental music in public worship.”
Macaulay.
Sweet voices mix’d with
instrumental
sounds.
Dryden.
3.
(Gram.)
Applied to a case expressing means or agency;
as, the
instrumental
case
. This is found in Sanskrit and Russian as a separate case, but in Greek it was merged into the dative, and in Latin into the ablative. In Old English it was a separate case, but has disappeared, leaving only a few anomalous forms.
Instrumental errors
,
those errors in instrumental measurements, etc., which arise, exclusively from lack of mathematical accuracy in an instrument.

Webster 1828 Edition

Instrumental

INSTRUMENT'AL

,
Adj.
Conducive as an instrument or means to some end; contributing aid; serving to promote or effect an object; helpful. The press has been instrumental in enlarging the bounds of knowledge.
1.
Pertaining to instruments; made by instruments; as instrumental music, distinguished form vocal music, which is made by the human voice.

Definition 2024

Instrumental

Instrumental

German

Noun

Instrumental m ‎(genitive Instrumentals, plural Instrumentale)

  1. instrumental

Declension

instrumental

instrumental

English

Adjective

instrumental ‎(comparative more instrumental, superlative most instrumental)

  1. Acting as an instrument; serving as a means; contributing to promote; conductive; helpful; serviceable; essential or central.
    He was instrumental in conducting the business.
    • (Can we date this quote?), William Shakespeare, Hamlet, I,ii
      The head is not more native to the heart, The hand more instrumental to the mouth —
    • 2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 2, 51:
      Few songwriters have been as instrumental in creating the mold for American music.
  2. (music) Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for, an instrument, especially a musical instrument.
    instrumental music
    • (Can we date this quote?) Thomas Babington Macaulay
      He defended the use of instrumental music in public worship.
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Dryden
    • Sweet voices mix'd with instrumental sounds.
  3. (grammar) Applied to a case expressing means or agency, generally indicated in English by by or with with the objective.
    the instrumental case

Coordinate terms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

instrumental ‎(countable and uncountable, plural instrumentals)

  1. (uncountable, grammar) The instrumental case.
  2. (countable, music) A composition written or performed without lyrics, sometimes using a lead instrument to replace vocals.
    • 1977, Stereo Review (volume 38, page 70)
      I recommend this album in the face of the fact that five of the eleven songs are the purest filler, dull instrumentals with a harmonica rifling over an indifferent rhythm section. The rest is magnificent […]

Translations

Catalan

Adjective

instrumental m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural instrumentals)

  1. instrumental

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛ̃s.tʁy.mɑ̃.tal/

Adjective

instrumental m ‎(feminine singular instrumentale, masculine plural instrumentaux, feminine plural instrumentales)

  1. instrumental

Noun

instrumental m ‎(plural instrumentaux)

  1. (grammar) the instrumental case

See also

German

Etymology

From French instrumental.

Instrument +‎ -al

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

instrumental ‎(not comparable)

  1. (music) instrumental

Antonyms

Declension

Portuguese

Adjective

instrumental m, f ‎(plural instrumentais, comparable)

  1. (music) instrumental (having no singing)
  2. (grammar) instrumental (pertaining to the instrumental case)

Noun

instrumental m (plural instrumentais)

  1. (uncountable, grammar) instrumental (grammatical case)
  2. (countable, music) instrumental (composition without singing)

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

ȉnstrumentāl m ‎(Cyrillic spelling и̏нструмента̄л)

  1. the instrumental case
  2. (music) a composition made for instruments only or a (version of some) song in which only the instruments are heard

Declension

Spanish

Adjective

instrumental m, f ‎(plural instrumentales)

  1. instrumental

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aːl

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