adverb
- in a way that refers to or relates to something else
Usage: linguistics; philosophy
Examples
- The pronoun ‘it’ functions referentially to point back to the noun mentioned earlier.
- In semantics, words can be used referentially to denote specific objects in the world.
- The painting works referentially, drawing meaning from classical mythology.
- She spoke referentially about the previous discussion without repeating the details.
- The term is used referentially in this context to connect with the author’s earlier work.
- Linguists study how language operates referentially to create meaning.