English Lexicon

Pragmatics

/præɡˈmætɪks/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #2500 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

1 sense
As noun
  1. 1

    The branch of linguistics studying how context contributes to meaning, and how language is used in social interactions.

    "Her research in pragmatics focuses on how irony and sarcasm are understood in everyday conversation."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'pragmatics' originates from the Greek word 'pragmatikos', meaning 'practical'. It was first used in the 1930s in the context of linguistics to describe the study of how context influences the interpretation of meaning.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Pragmatics"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Pragmatics"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Pragmatics" Synonym Map