Join free

semantics

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

semantics

  • /sɪˈmæntɪks/

Where it comes from

From French sémantique + English -s, displacing earlier semasiology. The French is a learned borrowing from Ancient Greek σημαντικός (sēmantikós); see semantic. By surface analysis, semantic + -ics or semantic + -s.

noun semantics

  1. countable, uncountable A branch of linguistics studying the meaning of words. Holonym: linguistics
  2. countable, uncountable The study of the relationship between words and their meanings. In fact, nowadays a lot is known about the semantics of natural languages, and it is surprisingly easy to build semantic representations which partially capture the meaning of sentences or even entire discourses.
  3. countable, uncountable The meaning or set of meanings of a linguistic element, such as a word, morpheme or utterance. In very ancient or poorly documented languages, the precise semantics of words tend to be uncertain.
  4. countable, uncountable The meanings of individual words, as opposed to the overall meaning of a passage. The semantics of the terms used are debatable.
  5. countable, uncountable The meaning of computer language constructs, in contrast to their form or syntax. file sharing and locking semantics
  6. broadly, colloquial, countable, uncountable, of a detail or distinction Pettiness or triviality. Who cares? This is all just semantics!

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: meaning, connotation, import, denotation, signification, sense, significance, explication, definition, reference, explanation, implication, interpretation, elucidation, purport, terminology

Translations

Every language

noun science of the meaning of words

Españolsemántica
한국어의미론 uimiron
日本語意味論 imiron
中文語義學 /语义学 yǔyìxué
हिन्दीअर्थविज्ञान arthavijñān
Kiswahilisemantiki
Portuguêssemântica
Françaissémantique
DeutschBedeutungslehre, Semantik
Românăsemantică
Русскийсема́нтика semántika
Tiếng Việtngữ nghĩa học
العربيةعِلْم اَلْمَعَانِي ʕilm al-maʕānī
עבריתתורת המשמעים torát hamashmaím, סמנטיקה semántika

noun study of the relationship between words and their meanings

Kiswahilisemantiki
Portuguêssemântica
Русскийсема́нтика semántika
Tiếng Việtngữ nghĩa học
עבריתתורת המשמעים torát hamashmaím, סמנטיקה semántika

noun individual meanings of words

Portuguêssemântica
Русскийсема́нтика semántika
Tiếng Việtngữ nghĩa
עבריתמשמעות mashmaút, סמנטיקה semántika

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"semantics." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/semantics. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

semantics. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/semantics

Chicago

"semantics." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/semantics.

BibTeX
@misc{semantics_2026,
  title = {semantics},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/semantics},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}