referent

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"But that would be sad to me, to have lost the referent."

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2023

You can tweak a reference all you like, but the referent will stay just the same.

From Washington Post • Dec. 21, 2021

“It’s not the most typical referent for ‘sandwich,’” he mused.

From The Verge • Apr. 9, 2020

In “Limonov,” Carrère once again reminds us of Dostoyevsky, his most constant cultural referent when in his Russian mode.

From New York Times • Dec. 12, 2019

Toni Morrison’s isn’t functioning as a modifier, which shades the meaning of genius, but as a determiner, which pins down its referent, in the same way that an article like the or this would do.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker