What does semantics mean?

Definitions for semantics
sɪˈmæn tɪksse·man·tics

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word semantics.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. semanticsnoun

    the study of language meaning

  2. semanticsnoun

    the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text

    "a petty argument about semantics"

GCIDE

  1. Semanticsn. sing. pl.

    the study of the meanings of words and of the sense development of words; -- formerly called semasiology.

  2. Semanticsn. sing. pl.

    a doctrine and philosophical approach to language and its relationship to thought and behavior, developed by Alfred Korzybski (1879-1950), which holds that the capacity to express ideas and thereby improve one's interaction with others and one's environment is enhanced by training in the more critical use of words and other symbols; -- also called general semantics.

  3. Semanticsn. sing. pl.

    the meanings of words as they are used to achieve an effect; especially, the multiple meanings of words or the multiplicity of words having the same meaning; -- used in referring to the confusion that can be caused (intentionally or unintentionally) by multiple meanings; as, there's no real difference, it's only a matter of semantics.

Wiktionary

  1. semanticsnoun

    A branch of linguistics studying the meaning of words.

    Semantics is a foundation of lexicography.

  2. semanticsnoun

    The study of the relationship between words and their meanings.

  3. semanticsnoun

    The individual meanings of words, as opposed to the overall meaning of a passage.

ChatGPT

  1. Semantics

    Semantics refers to the study of meaning in language, focusing on the relationship between words, phrases, and sentences and their meaning or interpretation. It explores how context, syntax, and other linguistic elements contribute to the understanding of meaning in communication. Semantics is concerned with the various aspects of meaning, including word meaning (lexical semantics), sentence meaning (compositional semantics), and the interpretation and understanding of language in context (pragmatics).

Wikidata

  1. Semantics

    Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, like words, phrases, signs, and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotation. Linguistic semantics is the study of meaning that is used for understanding human expression through language. Other forms of semantics include the semantics of programming languages, formal logics, and semiotics. The word semantics itself denotes a range of ideas, from the popular to the highly technical. It is often used in ordinary language for denoting a problem of understanding that comes down to word selection or connotation. This problem of understanding has been the subject of many formal enquiries, over a long period of time, most notably in the field of formal semantics. In linguistics, it is the study of interpretation of signs or symbols used in agents or communities within particular circumstances and contexts. Within this view, sounds, facial expressions, body language, and proxemics have semantic content, and each comprises several branches of study. In written language, things like paragraph structure and punctuation bear semantic content; other forms of language bear other semantic content.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Semantics

    The relationships between symbols and their meanings.

Editors Contribution

  1. semantics

    The science of the definition and meaning of language.

    Semantics is the vital starting point for understanding manifestation and creation.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 15, 2020  

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of semantics in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of semantics in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of semantics in a Sentence

  1. Anthony Fauci:

    That's certainly on the table. Right now, it is a bit of semantics.

  2. Michael Levin:

    The idea is much like the brain, when neuroscientists try to figure out the semantics of electrical states in the brain. We try to figure out how patterns are encoded in electrical states in the body.

  3. Scott Biggs:

    Unfortunately, legal minds often get stuck on questions of semantics, when it is clear to most of us what the intent of the law is, i can’t stress enough how sorry I am for the victim and that she was denied justice.

  4. Rick Merritt:

    It’s a slap in the face for any veteran -- any Ranger -- to be attacked that way, it’s not a controversy. It’s a fact that he is a Ranger, just like I’m a Ranger. They’re just playing semantics on the unit in which he served as a Ranger.

  5. H.R. Haldeman:

    We are getting into semantics again. If we use words, there is a very grave danger they will be misinterpreted.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for semantics

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"semantics." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/semantics>.

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