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# semantic

«semantic» in Mova's school dictionary: **to do with the meanings of words and sentences** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (semantic); noun «semantics» (uncountable, takes a singular verb)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Semantic means to do with the meanings of words and sentences. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#m1)

2) Semantics is the study of meaning in language. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#m2)

3) (informal) «Just semantics» means an argument only about which word to use, not about the real facts. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In English lessons, a semantic field is a group of words about one topic (e.g. war: battle, soldier, attack). In computing, «semantic search» finds results by meaning rather than exact words. Everyday arguments: «That is just semantics» means «we are arguing about words, not facts».

### examples

- Big, huge and giant are in the same semantic field. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#x1)
- The poem uses a semantic field of cold: ice, frost, shiver. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#x2)
- There is a semantic difference between borrow and steal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#x3)
- Semantics is the study of meaning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#x4)
- Whether you call it a bun or a roll is just semantics. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#x5)
- The computer uses semantic search to understand the question. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#x6)
- Our teacher showed us a semantic map of words about the sea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/#x7)

### note

Said «si-MAN-tik». «Semantics» ends in -s but is usually treated as singular: «semantics is interesting». Compare: grammar (how words are put together), semantics (what they mean), phonics (sounds).

### In the corpora

- [When a word's meaning changes over time, it is called semantic change.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/5/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «semantic» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/semantic/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.