- of or relating to meaning or arising from distinctions between the meanings of different words or symbols
- of or relating to semantics
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
se•man•tic
(si man′tik),USA pronunciation adj.
se•man′ti•cal•ly, adv.
- Linguisticsof, pertaining to, or arising from the different meanings of words or other symbols:semantic change; semantic confusion.
- Linguisticsof or pertaining to semantics.
- Greek sēmantikós having meaning, equivalent. to sēmant(ós) marked (sēman-, base of sēmaínein to show, mark + -tos verbal adjective, adjectival suffix; akin to sêma sign) + -ikos -ic
- 1655–65
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
semantic /sɪˈmæntɪk/ adj
se•man•tics /sɪˈmæntɪks/USA pronunciation
n.
se•man•ti•cist /sɪˈmæntəsɪst/USA pronunciation n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Linguistics[uncountable; used with a singular verb] a branch of linguistics dealing with the study of meaning, the ways meaning is structured in language, and changes in meaning and form over time.
- Linguisticsthe meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, etc.: [uncountable; used with a singular verb]Let's not argue about semantics.[plural* used with a plural verb]The semantics of those terms are confusing.
se•man•ti•cist /sɪˈmæntəsɪst/USA pronunciation n. [countable]
se•man•tics
(si man′tiks),USA pronunciation n. (used with a sing. v.)
se•man•ti•cist
(si man′tə sist),USA pronunciation se•man•ti•cian
(sē′man tish′ən),USA pronunciation n.
- Linguistics
- the study of meaning.
- the study of linguistic development by classifying and examining changes in meaning and form.
- Philosophy, Linguistics, LinguisticsAlso called significs. the branch of semiotics dealing with the relations between signs and what they denote.
- Linguisticsthe meaning, or an interpretation of the meaning, of a word, sign, sentence, etc.:Let's not argue about semantics.
- LinguisticsSee general semantics.
- 1895–1900; see semantic, -ics
'semantic' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
formal language
- intensifier
- meaning
- mood
- notional
- part of speech
- pejoration
- structural linguistics
- agentive
- American Sign Language
- animate
- autonomous syntax
- benefactive
- binarity
- brae
- carbine
- case grammar
- classifier
- component
- componential analysis
- content
- content word
- covert
- deep structure
- determinative
- dyke
- experiencer
- expressive
- function word
- furphy
- generative semantics
- grammaticalize
- graze
- hierarchy
- inanimate
- instrumental
- jig
- lexicalize
- locutionary
- melioration
- nice
- objective
- -orama
- phrasal verb
- presently
- templet
- unique
- selection
- semanteme
- semantic differential