pragmatics

prag·mat·ics

noun plural but singular or plural in construction \prag-ˈma-tiks\

Definition of PRAGMATICS

1

: a branch of semiotics that deals with the relation between signs or linguistic expressions and their users

2

: a branch of linguistics that is concerned with the relationship of sentences to the environment in which they occur

First Known Use of PRAGMATICS

1937

Rhymes with PRAGMATICS

chromatics, dramatics

prag·mat·ics

noun plural but singular or plural in construction \prag-ˈmat-iks\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of PRAGMATICS

: a branch of semiotic that deals with the relation between signs or linguistic expressions and their users

pragmatics

   (Concise Encyclopedia)

In linguistics and philosophy, the study of the use of natural language in communication; more generally, the study of the relations between languages and their users. It is sometimes defined in contrast with linguistic semantics, which can be described as the study of the rule systems that determine the literal meanings of linguistic expressions. Pragmatics is then the study of how both literal and nonliteral aspects of communicated linguistic meaning are determined by principles that refer to the physical or social context (broadly construed) in which language is used. Among these aspects are conversational and conventional “implicatures” (e.g., “John has three sons” conversationally implicates that John has no more than three sons; “He was poor but honest” conventionally implicates an unspecified contrast between poverty and honesty). Other aspects include metaphor and other tropes and speech acts.