Meaning & use
nonverbal
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Expressed without spoken or written words, for example through gestures, facial expressions, posture or tone.
Grammar: Often placed before a noun: nonverbal cues, but it can also follow be: her message was nonverbal.
Patterns
- nonverbal communication
- nonverbal cues
Her nonverbal signals, such as crossed arms, told me she was unhappy.
Good teachers pick up on nonverbal cues from quiet students.
A nod is a simple nonverbal way of saying yes.
adjectivecomparablespecialist
Describing a person who does not speak, or who cannot yet use spoken language to communicate.
Grammar: Used about people, often in education and healthcare: a nonverbal child.
Patterns
- a nonverbal child
The nonverbal toddler used picture cards to ask for a snack.
Many nonverbal students communicate with tablets that speak for them.
adjectivebefore a nounspecialist
Testing reasoning with shapes, patterns or pictures instead of language.
Grammar: Appears in test names: a nonverbal reasoning test.
Patterns
- nonverbal reasoning
The school gave pupils a nonverbal reasoning test with puzzles made of shapes.
She scored higher on nonverbal tasks than on vocabulary questions.
Common combinations
- nonverbal communication
- Nonverbal communication often says more than the words people choose.
- nonverbal cue
- He missed the nonverbal cue that the meeting was over.
- nonverbal behavior
- Interviewers may judge candidates by their nonverbal behavior.
- nonverbal reasoning
- Nonverbal reasoning tests use patterns rather than words.
- nonverbal signal
- A raised eyebrow can be a powerful nonverbal signal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wordless
- Wordless stresses that no words at all are used, while nonverbal is the standard term in psychology and teaching.
- unspoken
- Unspoken suits things understood but not said aloud, like an unspoken rule, whereas nonverbal covers deliberate gestures and expressions too.
- silent
- Silent means making no sound, so a spoken tone of voice could be nonverbal but not silent.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: nonverbal or oral?
nonverbal vs oral
Oral means spoken, but unlike nonverbal it is the opposite of written, not of wordless communication.
Practice
During the negotiation, her ____ signals, such as leaning back and folding her arms, showed she disagreed.
Choose one answer.
Leaning back and folding arms communicate without words, so nonverbal fits. Verbal, oral and written all involve language.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonverbal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.