referential

[ref-uh-ren-shuhl]

adjective

1. having reference.

   referential to something.

2. containing a reference.

3. used for reference.

Other Word Forms

• referentially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of referential¹

First recorded in 1650–60; referent + -ial

Example Sentences

The film is so visually dense, so rapidly wordy, so referential to its own form, that details fly by in a blur.

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I now live on the side of L.A. where the styling of luxury items is either ironic or referential.

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But it’s creating an interesting position for designers to be forced to come up with new things that no one’s seen before, that aren’t referential.

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Intersected at its peak by a thin crescent — most likely a representation of the Golden Order, the dark fantasy world’s ruling theocracy — it feels bluntly referential to saints and prophets and resurrections.

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The feverish “Tortured Poets Department” is a full-throated return to her specialty: autobiographical and sometimes spiteful tales of heartbreak, full of detailed, referential lyrics that her fans will delight in decoding.

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