Meaning & use
arterial
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounmedicaltechnical
Relating to the arteries, the tubes that carry blood away from the heart.
Grammar: Used before a noun; it does not usually come after a verb, so say 'arterial blood', not 'the blood is arterial'.
Patterns
- arterial blood
- arterial disease
- arterial pressure
The surgeon checked the arterial blood flow during the operation.
High salt intake can raise arterial pressure over time.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
(Of a road or route) main and important, carrying a lot of traffic.
Grammar: Used before a noun such as road, route, or traffic: an arterial road.
Patterns
- arterial road
- arterial route
- arterial traffic
The arterial road into the city was closed for repairs.
Planners want to improve the arterial routes around the port.
adjectivebefore a nounbiologyspecialist
(Of a tree or plant's system) formed like a network of branching tubes.
Grammar: A specialist use, usually before nouns such as system or network.
Patterns
- arterial system of a plant
- arterial network
The arterial network of the leaf carries water to every part.
Botanists described the arterial system inside the stem.
Common combinations
- arterial blood
- The nurse took a sample of arterial blood for testing.
- arterial road
- An arterial road links the two industrial areas.
- arterial disease
- Smoking increases the risk of arterial disease.
- arterial pressure
- The monitor showed his arterial pressure was too high.
- arterial route
- Emergency vehicles use the arterial route to reach the hospital quickly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vascular
- Vascular refers to blood vessels in general, including veins; arterial refers specifically to arteries.
- main
- Main is a general word for the most important road; arterial is more technical and suggests a route that feeds traffic into a network.
Opposites
Word family
- artery noun
- A tube that carries blood away from the heart.
- arteriole noun
- A very small branch of an artery.
- arteriosclerosis noun
- A medical condition in which arteries become hard and narrow.
Commonly confused: arterial or venal?
arterial vs venal
Venal sounds similar but means willing to take bribes; it has nothing to do with blood vessels.
Practice
Which word best fits the gap? 'The ambulance sped along the ___ road to the hospital.'
Choose one answer.
An adjective is needed before the noun road, and arterial is the adjective. Artery and arteries are nouns, and arterially is an adverb, which cannot modify road.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “arterial”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.