nuptial

[ nuhp-shuhl, -chuhl ]

adjective

1. of or relating to marriage or the marriage ceremony:

   the nuptial day;

   nuptial vows.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of mating or the mating season of animals:

   nuptial behavior.

noun

1. Usually nuptials. a wedding or marriage.

nuptial

/ -tʃəl; ˈnʌpʃəl /

adjective

1. relating to marriage; conjugal

   nuptial vows

2. zoology of or relating to mating

   the nuptial flight of a queen bee

Pronunciation Note

The pronunciations [nuhp, -choo-, uh, l] and [nuhp, -shoo-, uh, l], by analogy with such words as mutual and actual, are not considered standard.

Derived Forms

• ˈnuptially, adverb

Other Words From

• nuptial·ly adverb
• quasi-nuptial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuptial¹

First recorded in 1480–90; ( Middle French ) from Latin nuptiālis, equivalent to nupti(ae) “marriage, wedding,” derivative of nūbere “(of a woman) to marry” + -ālis adjective suffix; nubile

Word History and Origins

Origin of nuptial¹

C15: from Latin nuptiālis, from nuptiae marriage, from nubere to marry

Synonym Study

See marriage.

Example Sentences

Some of the most recent nuptials have involved a few NBA stars.

From Essence.com

After getting married in December 2019 and then surviving lockdown together just months after their nuptials, Nick and Kimelia Weathers Smith immediately got to work on building their family empire.

From Essence.com

Covid-19 changed so much in our lives, including nuptials, forcing couples to scale down or even cancel lavish wedding celebrations.

From Washington Post

We will only host our wedding if every guest who is medically cleared has easy access to a vaccine and is vaccinated by the time of the nuptials—which looked a lot more promising when we signed the contracts than it does now.

From Fortune

To an onlooker, the September nuptials of Faridah and Derrick at a hotel in Kampala, the capital of God-fearing Uganda, looked like any other wedding.

From Ozy

Specifically, more couples are beginning to request digital privacy clauses in prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements.

From The Daily Beast

Not long after the Dutch nuptial-nullifying company started gaining publicity, a pilot for a reality show called—what else?

From The Daily Beast

Chris Lee on the pitch-black pre-nuptial Indie comedy premiering at Sundance.

From The Daily Beast

Should pre-nuptial agreements now specify the fate of a kidney given during the marriage?

From The Daily Beast

I often heard Europeans remark that they considered the procession of the nuptial couch extremely improper.

From Project Gutenberg

Putting on the nuptial robe of a passion in which life itself is concerned, the woman wraps herself in purity and whiteness.

From Project Gutenberg

On leaving the nuptial chamber with a pretty woman in it, a man is apt to be hungry, if he is young.

From Project Gutenberg

These are the most lugubrious nuptial felicitations that ever were offered to a bridegroom, I should fancy!

From Project Gutenberg

Better thou and I were lying, cold and limber-stiff and dead, With a pan of burning charcoal underneath our nuptial bed!

From Project Gutenberg