semantics
Linguistics.
the study of meaning.
the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form.
Also called significs. the branch of semiotics dealing with the relations between signs and what they denote.
the meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, sentence, etc.: Let's not argue about semantics.
Origin of semantics
1Other 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. 2023
How to use semantics in a sentence
How important are the semantics when it comes to talking about Hitler?
Ron Rosenbaum on Hitler, Hollywood, and Quantifying Evil | William O’Connor | July 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo those who see all sex work falling under the same illicit umbrella, this is mere semantics.
Sex, Power, and Desire: The Life of America’s Next Top Escort | Scott Bixby | March 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHer disassociation with the feminist label and its negative connotations just boils down to semantics.
Susan Sarandon Says She’s Not a Feminist: Why She Dumped the Label | Lizzie Crocker | July 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the wiser voices in the movement know that, now, they face much graver problems than semantics.
Washington has a serious tendency to exalt semantics over common sense.
Egypt’s Declaration of Independence: Not So Different From Ours | Christopher Dickey | July 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
"Remember semantics," I murmured to him, as I pulled out Sara's chair for her.
Sense from Thought Divide | Mark Irvin CliftonHe could express it in the semantics of spiritism, or he could admit to witchcraft and sorcery.
Sense from Thought Divide | Mark Irvin CliftonThere 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 AndersonWe 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 KennedyHe 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
/ (sɪˈmæntɪks) /
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
the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent
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
The scientific or philosophical study of the relations of words and their meanings.
Notes for 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.
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