referent
Americannoun
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the object or event to which a term or symbol refers.
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Logic. the first term in a proposition to which succeeding terms relate.
noun
Etymology
Origin of referent
1835–45; < Latin referent- (stem of referēns ), present participle of referre. See refer, -ent
Explanation
A referent is what a word or symbol stands for. The referent is the concrete thing that’s being referred to, so an actual chair would be the referent of the word chair. The referent of words such as table or building is pretty clear, but some referents are more abstract, like for the words happiness or danger. The word referent is handy in grammar-land, when you’re trying to figure out how words are being used in a sentence. Also, Frankenstein’s monster could be the referent of monster, experiment gone wrong, or big green guy.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And if we cannot find a referent for the normal and the good, how can we possibly come back from our national neurosis?
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2024
"But that would be sad to me, to have lost the referent."
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2023
You can tweak a reference all you like, but the referent will stay just the same.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 21, 2021
“It’s not the most typical referent for ‘sandwich,’” he mused.
From The Verge ● Apr. 9, 2020
A restrictive relative clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence, often because it pinpoints the referent of the noun from among a set of alternatives.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
