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sentential

A2
adjective

Pronunciation

UK

  • /sɛntˈɛnʃəl/

US

  • /sɛntˈɛnʃəl/

Description

"Sentential" sounds fancy, but it simply means "having to do with sentences." Think of it as the formal adjective form of "sentence." It is mostly used in linguistics, logic, and philosophy when people talk about how sentences are built, linked, or understood. You would not use it for a prison sentence, of course; this word is only about language and statements. A linguist might talk about sentential ambiguity, where a sentence can be understood in more than one way because of its structure. In logic, someone might mention sentential connectives such as and, or, and if.

Examples

  1. 1

    Grammar term

    In grammar, words like "fortunately" are often called sentential adverbs.

    • Domain

      sentential adverb

      a word that comments on the whole sentence

  2. 2

    Clause grammar

    The verb "say" can introduce a sentential complement, as in "She said that she was tired."

    • Domain

      sentential complement

      a whole clause used after a verb

  3. 3

    Logic

    We studied sentential logic first and left predicate logic for the next chapter.

    • Domain

      sentential logic

      logic that deals with complete statements

Forms and spellings

1 form open this card.

Main spelling

  • sententialadjective