pragmatics
prag-MAT-iks/pɹæɡˈmætɪks/
- 1The study of how people use language in real life and how the situation changes what words mean.
Like knowing that "Nice job" can mean the opposite when a friend rolls their eyes.
Pragmatics explains why "Can you pass the salt?" is a request and not a real question.
In her pragmatics class, she learned how gestures and tone add to what we say.
Note
- 2Plural of pragmatic. Use it for more than one official order made public by rulers.
The king sent out pragmatics that set the price of bread in every town.
The new pragmatics were read aloud in the market square.
Note
pragmatics is a form of pragmatic
- Forms
- pragmaticpragmatics plural
- Spelling
- pragmatic → pragmatics: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /s/.
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