physical
Syllables: phys·ic·alUK/ˈfɪz.ɪ.kəl/
physical adjective: pertaining to the field of medicine; medical.
Adjective
physical (comparative more physical, superlative most physical)
- Pertaining to the field of medicine; medical.
- That practises medicine; pertaining to doctors, physicianly.
- Her father was thrown from his horse, when his blood was in a very inflammatory state, and the bruises were very dangerous; his recovery was not expected by the physical tribe.1788, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary: A Fiction
- Medicinal; good for the health, curative, therapeutic.
- Phisicall [translating φαρμακώδεις (pharmakṓdeis)] herbes, as Helleborum, Lingewort, or Beares foote.1579, Thomas North, translating Pliny, Parallel Lives
- Is Brutus sick? and is it physical / To walk unbraced, and suck up the humours / Of the dank morning?1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- Pertaining to the world as understood through the senses rather than the mind, having to do with the material world.
- It's not so much a physical place as a state of mind.
- Labour, then, in the physical world, is […] employed in putting objects in motion.1848, John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy: With Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], →OCLC
- In accordance with the laws of nature; now specifically, pertaining to physics.
- The substance has a number of interesting physical properties.
- Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains.2012 January, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2013, page 86
- Denoting a map showing natural features of the landscape (compare political).
- Having to do with the body as opposed to the mind; corporeal, bodily.
- Insults can hurt a lot more than physical injuries.
- Are you feeling any physical effects?
- Sexual, carnal.
- to get physical
- Involving bodily force or contact; vigorous, aggressive.
- This team plays a very physical game, so watch out.
- Hardy is perfect. He’s physical and monosyllabic.2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road might already be the best action movie ever made”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2022
- Of a piece of media, existing as a tangible object instead of being digital.
- There is just something so amazing about reading a physical book as compared to an e-book.
Noun
physical (plural physicals)
- A physical examination.
- How long has it been since your last physical?
- A physical manifestation of psychic origin, as through ectoplasmic solidification.
- "I don't mind readings and clairvoyance, but the physicals do try you."1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019
physical meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
physical in Hindi
- having to do with the body; corporeal
- शारीरिक śārīrik
physical in Tamil
- உடல், பொருள் அல்லது இருப்பு சார்ந்த, இயற்பொருள் சார்ந்த
physical in Marathi
- having to do with the material world; tangible
- भौतिक bhautik
- having to do with the body; corporeal
- शारीरिक śārīrik
physical in Urdu
- فطری, جسمانی, طبعی
More languagesFewer languages
- physical in Bengali
- নৈসর্গিক noishôrgik
- physical in Telugu
- భౌతికము bhautikamu, శారీరకము śārīrakamu
- physical in Malayalam
- ശാരീരികമായ, പ്രകൃതിശാസ്ത്രവിഷയകമായ, സ്ഥൂലമായ, ജഡമായ
- physical in Kannada
- ಸಹ saha
- physical in Punjabi
- ਪ੍ਰਾਕ੍ਰਿਤਿਕ prākritik
- physical in Gujarati
- શારીરિક, ભૌતિક
- physical in Odia
- ପ୍ରାକୃତିକ prākrutika
- physical in Nepali
- भौतिक, शारीरिक
- physical in Arabic
- مَادِّيّ māddiyy, مَلْمُوس malmūs, مَحْسُوس maḥsūs, فِيزِيَائِيّ fīziyāʔiyy
- physical in Indonesian
- fisik, jasmaniah, badaniah, fisis
- physical in Persian
- فیزیکی fiziki
Examples of physical in a sentence
- In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year.2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2023, page 74:
- A society sunk in ignorance, and ruled by mere physical force.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter I, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify...
Antonyms of physical
- mental
- psychical
- psychological
- spiritual
- having to do with the mind
- spirit viewed as distinct from body
Forms of physical
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more physical |
| superlative | most physical |
| alternative form (obsolete) | physickal |
| Noun | |
| plural | physicals |
Origin of physical
Borrowed from Late Latin physicālis, from Latin physica (“study of nature”), from Ancient Greek φυσική (phusikḗ), feminine singular of φυσικός (phusikós, “natural; physical”), from φύσις (phúsis, “origin, birth; nature, quality; form, shape; type, kind”), from φῠ́ω (phŭ́ō, “grow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to appear, become, rise up”).
Words formed from physical
- aerophysical
- agrophysical
- antiphysical
- astrophysical
- barophysical
- biophysical
- cataphysical
- chemicophysical
- chemophysical
- cyberphysical
- ecophysical
- electrophysical
- ethicophysical
- extraphysical
- geophysical
- get physical
- hydrophysical
- hyperphysical
- iatrophysical
- macrophysical
- mechanophysical
- microphysical
- neurophysical
- nonphysical
- pamphysical
- paraphysical
- petrophysical
- photophysical
- phygital
- physical anthropology
- physical body
- physical break
- physical change
- physical chemistry
- physical comedy
- physical constant
- physical culture
- physical diagnosis
- physical distancing
- physical education
- physical exam
- physical examination
- physical finger
- physical geographer
- physical geography
- physicalism
- physicalist
- physicalization
- physicalize
- physical law
- physical love
- physical map
- physical mediumship
- physical memory protection
- physicalness
- physical page
- physical person
- physical plane
- physical plant
- physical quantity
Phrases with physical
- got physical
- gets physical
- physical laws
- physical maps
- physical twin
- physical exams
- physical state
- physical twins
- gotten physical
- physical breaks
- physical people
- physical states
22 more phrasesFewer phrases
- physical system
- getting physical
- physical changes
- physical fingers
- physical persons
- physical science
- physical systems
- physical theatre
- physical therapy
- physical comedies
- physical sciences
- physical training
- physical constants
- physical diagnoses
- physical therapies
- physical therapist
- physical quantities
- physical therapists
- physical geographers
- physical examinations
- physical unclonable function
- physical unclonable functions
Words that rhyme with physical
Questions about physical
- What does physical mean?
- Physical means pertaining to the field of medicine; medical.
- What is physical in Hindi?
- Physical in Hindi is शारीरिक (śārīrik). See Physical meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use physical in a sentence?
- In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year.
- What part of speech is physical?
- Physical can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce physical?
- Physical is pronounced /ˈfɪz.ɪ.kəl/ (UK).
Words near physical in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: physical (page history and authors); physical (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); physical (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); নৈসর্গিক (Bengali) (page history and authors); physical (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಸಹ (Kannada) (page history and authors); ਪ੍ਰਾਕ੍ਰਿਤਿਕ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); physical (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ପ୍ରାକୃତିକ (Odia) (page history and authors); physical (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-physical.ogg.
Cite this entry: “physical.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/physical. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.