Dictionary.com

pragmatics

[ prag-mat-iks ]
/ prægˈmæt ɪks /
Save This Word!

noun (used with a singular verb)
Logic, Philosophy. the branch of semiotics dealing with the causal and other relations between words, expressions, or symbols and their users.
Linguistics. the analysis of language in terms of the situational context within which utterances are made, including the knowledge and beliefs of the speaker and the relation between speaker and listener.
practical considerations.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of pragmatics

First recorded in 1935–40; see origin at pragmatic, -ics
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pragmatics in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pragmatics

pragmatics
/ (præɡˈmætɪks) /

noun (functioning as singular)
the study of those aspects of language that cannot be considered in isolation from its use
the study of the relation between symbols and those who use them
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
FEEDBACK