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referential

referential

6 7.2
Pointing to a real person or thing in language and signs
  • adjective
  • /ˌrɛfəˈrɛnʃəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : referencial
  • But for Tracy and Gerrish, doctrines are also "referential PROPOSITIONS" asserting "fundamental truths maintained by the community."
  • self-referential
  • referential and textual
  • referential meaning

For narcissist, disappointment is always through a self referential lens.

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Examples

  • Reality and any other visual acknowledgment of it are used only as referential models.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The act of naming serves at least two functions: referential and expressive.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Electric Dress is in a constant referential relationship to the body.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The former method has generally been abandoned due to a lack of empirical and referential support.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The city center definitely lost its character as a "referential center" for the people of Bogota.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The textual perspective does not necessarily deny the presence of referential factors or meanings in a text.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The word 'dog' is referential because it points to a specific kind of animal.

  • In literature, a referential statement can identify real-world objects or concepts.

  • His comments were often referential, linking ideas to well-known theories and events.

How Referential

self-referent
  • Specialized
9.6
referential
  • Specialized
6 7.2

Surface Forms

referential positive

Morphology

referential = referent (transparent) = refer + ent + ial

The adjective is regularly formed from the noun 'referent' with the standard adjectival suffix '-ial', so its meaning directly relates to reference.

Etymology

The word referential comes from the common verb refer and the noun reference, which originally meant 'bring back' or 'point back' to something. So something referential 'points to' or 'relates to' a real thing.