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Word: phatic (lookup usage) (lookup stats)


Meaning:

Adjective:

  • Linguistics Pertaining to words used to convey any kind of social relationship e.g polite mood, rather than meaning; for example, "How are you?" is often not a literal question but is said only as a greeting. (Similarly, a response such as "Fine" is often not an accurate answer, but merely an acknowledgement of the greeting.)

Source: Wiktionary | Src Info »