semantics

n. the specific meaning or set of meanings that a word or phrase has.

n. the specific meaning, interpretation, or connotations of a particular linguistic sign or expression.

“The semantics of the word 'freedom' can change depending on who is speaking.”

“The researcher explored the shifting semantics of political slogans during the late twentieth century to track changes in public sentiment.”

Academic

n. a way of saying that a disagreement is only about the words used, not the actual facts.

n. a colloquial reference to trivial distinctions in word choice, often used to dismiss an argument as being about labels rather than substance.

“We are basically saying the same thing; you are just arguing about semantics.”

“The debate descended into a dispute over semantics, with both parties failing to address the underlying structural issues of the proposal.”

Informal

n. the way a computer program reacts to specific commands, rather than how the code is written.

n. the field concerned with the rigorous mathematical study of the meaning of programming languages.

“The programmer checked the semantics of the code to ensure it performed the correct calculation.”

“While the syntax of the script was valid, the underlying semantics caused a logical error that crashed the server during peak hours.”

Technical