semantic

[ si-man-tik ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or arising from the different meanings of words or other symbols:

   semantic change; semantic confusion.

2. of or relating to semantics.

semantic

/ sɪˈmæntɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to meaning or arising from distinctions between the meanings of different words or symbols
2. of or relating to semantics
3. logic concerned with the interpretation of a formal theory, as when truth tables are given as an account of the sentential connectives

Derived Forms

• seˈmantically, adverb

Other Words From

• se·man·ti·cal·ly adverb
• non·se·man·tic adjective
• pseu·do·se·man·tic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of semantic¹

First recorded in 1655–65; from Greek sēmantikós “having meaning,” equivalent to sēmant(ós) “marked” ( sēman-, base of sēmaínein “to show, mark” + -tos verbal adjective suffix; akin to sêma “sign”) + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of semantic¹

C19: from Greek sēmantikos having significance, from sēmainein to signify, from sēma a sign

Example Sentences

I generally loathe semantic debates, but this one matters.

From Salon

Ryan Mac: But on the semantics, Twitter does not exist anymore.

From Los Angeles Times

"Audio AI enables deeper understanding and semantic interpretation of the sound of things around us better than ever before - for example, environmental sounds or sound cues emanating from machines."

From BBC

But asked why his solo record wasn’t a Toto album — Paich and Williams are both all over it — he says, “Don’t want to deal with fighting people over semantics.”

From Los Angeles Times

In the Court’s view,” she said, “this is not an insignificant semantic detail.”

From Salon

Related Words

• linguistic