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pragmatics

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Pragmatics is the study of how words are used, or the study of signs and symbols.

(noun)

An example of pragmatics is how the same word can have different meanings in different settings.
An example of pragmatics is the study of how people react to different symbols.

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See pragmatics in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

the branch of linguistics concerned with meaning in context, or the meanings of sentences in terms of the speaker's intentions in using them
the branch of semiotics dealing with the relationships of signs and symbols to their users

See pragmatics in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun (used with a sing. verb)

The study of language as it is used in a social context, including its effect on the interlocutors.
The branch of semiotics that deals with the relationship between signs, especially words and other elements of language, and their users.

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