Pictorial means expressed in pictures rather than words, or relating to pictures. A pictorial guide to building a model airplane uses diagrams and illustrations instead of long paragraphs of instructions. A pictorial map shows landmarks as little drawings of buildings and trees rather than just dots and labels.

The word suggests that pictures carry the main message. When a magazine runs a pictorial essay on Antarctic wildlife, you learn about penguins and seals primarily by looking at photographs, with maybe just a few sentences of explanation. History books often include pictorial sections showing photographs from different time periods.

Pictorial can also describe something that would make a good picture, like a pictorial mountain landscape at sunset. But most often, the word describes things that use pictures as their primary way of communicating. If you're assembling furniture and the instructions are pictorial, you'll be following drawings that show each step visually. This approach works well when words might be confusing or when people speak different languages: pictures can communicate across language barriers in ways that words can't.