Semantic

//sɪˈmæntɪk// adj, noun, slang

adj, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    In such writing systems as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a phono-semantic character that provides an indication of its meaning; contrasted with phonetic.

    "Its semantic is polysyllabic, viz. it uses the word formations of spoken Chinese."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or relating to semantics or the meanings of words. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Reflecting intended structure and meaning. not-comparable
  3. 3
    Petty or trivial; (of a person or statement) quibbling, niggling. not-comparable, slang
Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to meaning or the study of meaning wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
connotativedemonstrativedenominativedenotativedescriptivedesignative

Example

More examples

"Here's an example of a semantic gamut: non-existent, unique, rare, uncommon, common, trite, worn-out, universal."

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek σημαντικός (sēmantikós). Compare French sémantique.

Related phrases

phono-semantic compoundphono-semantic matchingsemantic Websemantic analysissemantic bleachingsemantic borrowingsemantic calquesemantic changesemantic differentiationsemantic driftsemantic fieldsemantic layer

More for "semantic"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.