1. plural of passional; books or texts containing accounts of the sufferings and martyrdom of saints or religious figures
Usage: chiefly historical or religious contexts; often capitalized when referring to specific liturgical texts
2. plural of passional; relating to or expressing strong emotion or passion
Usage: archaic or literary usage

Examples

• Medieval monasteries preserved passionals that documented the lives of early Christian martyrs.
• The library's collection includes several illuminated passionals from the 13th century.
• Scholars studied the passionals to understand how saints were venerated in the Middle Ages.
• The passionals served as both spiritual instruction and historical records for the faithful.