semantics

[ si-man-tiks ]
See synonyms for semantics on Thesaurus.com
noun(used with a singular verb)
  1. Linguistics.

    • the study of meaning.

    • the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form.

  2. Also called significs. the branch of semiotics dealing with the relations between signs and what they denote.

  1. the meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, sentence, etc.: Let's not argue about semantics.

Origin of semantics

1
First recorded in 1895–1900; see origin at semantic, -ics

Other words from semantics

  • se·man·ti·cist [si-man-tuh-sist], /sɪˈmæn tə sɪst/, se·man·ti·cian [see-man-tish-uhn], /ˌsi mænˈtɪʃ ən/, noun

Words Nearby semantics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use semantics in a sentence

  • "Remember semantics," I murmured to him, as I pulled out Sara's chair for her.

    Sense from Thought Divide | Mark Irvin Clifton
  • He could express it in the semantics of spiritism, or he could admit to witchcraft and sorcery.

    Sense from Thought Divide | Mark Irvin Clifton
  • There was already the psychology of Freud and his successors, of course, which gave the first real notion of human semantics.

    The Sensitive Man | Poul William Anderson
  • We were walking over toward the elevator during this conversation and as far as blowing up, this is semantics.

    Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
  • He prefers to call himself a Marxist, but there you get into the field of semantics.

    Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for semantics

semantics

/ (sɪˈmæntɪks) /


noun(functioning as singular)
  1. the branch of linguistics that deals with the study of meaning, changes in meaning, and the principles that govern the relationship between sentences or words and their meanings

  2. the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent

  1. logic

    • the study of interpretations of a formal theory

    • the study of the relationship between the structure of a theory and its subject matter

    • (of a formal theory) the principles that determine the truth or falsehood of sentences within the theory, and the references of its terms

Derived forms of semantics

  • semanticist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for semantics

semantics

The scientific or philosophical study of the relations of words and their meanings.

Notes for semantics

Semantics is commonly used to refer to a trivial point or distinction that revolves around mere words rather than significant issues: “To argue whether the medication killed the patient or contributed to her death is to argue over semantics.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.