scriptural

American  

[skrip-cher-uhl] / ˈskrɪp tʃər əl /

adjective

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) of, relating to, or in accordance with sacred writings, especially the Scriptures.

2. rendered in or related to writing.

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scriptural British  

/ ˈskrɪptʃərəl /

adjective

1. (often capital) of, in accordance with, or based on Scripture

2. of or relating to writing

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Other Word Forms

• antiscriptural adjective
• nonscriptural adjective
• pro-Scriptural adjective
• scripturally adverb
• scripturalness noun
• unscriptural adjective
• unscripturally adverb

Etymology

Origin of scriptural

From the Late Latin word scrīptūrālis, dating back to 1635–45. See Scripture, -al ¹

Example Sentences

Likely composed by the earliest Buddhist nuns in a variety of Indian languages between 600 and 300 B.C., the verses were later anthologized in Pali, the scriptural language of Theravada Buddhism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

James Baldwin’s soaring, sermonic prose; Toni Morrison’s scriptural authority; William Faulkner’s Genesis-like cosmologies of Southern identity and place: All draw heavily on a Christian-inflected aesthetic.

From New York Times • Aug. 24, 2023

Through his studies at mosques and madrasas across the Muslim world, Ibn Tumart had developed a broader outlook than Ibn Yasin, and Ibn Tumart’s cosmopolitan approach challenged Ibn Yasin’s scriptural literalism.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

“He was a great pope, a marvellous pope. He was able to explain the scriptural matters of faith and also the traditional teachings of the Church,” said Father Callistus Kahale Kabindama, a priest from Zambia.

From Reuters • Jan. 4, 2023

It must be a joke, and nothing could please Father better than a scriptural joke.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom