What is the meaning of the word pragmatic

Learning the definition of words, their origins, and examples of how to use them in a sentence is a very pragmatic task. If you don’t know what pragmatic means, though, you don’t know whether that’s good or bad.

Perhaps you have a sense of what pragmatic means from context clues, but this guide will help you see if you’re using this helpful word correctly.

What Is the Definition of the Word Pragmatic?

According to the English dictionary, the word pragmatic is an adjective. It is pronounced prag-mat-ic. A less commonly used variant of the word is pragmatical. Pragmatical is pronounced as prag-mat-i-cal. 

The word pragmatic has more than one definition. 

Pragmatic can be used to describe something or someone as practical rather than idealistic, like:

• The prime minister was considered to be a pragmatic leader.
• I prefer a more pragmatic approach in the field of medicine.

According to the Dictionary of the English Language, pragmatism or being pragmatic can also describe someone or something that deals with problems in a reasonable, systematic, or logical way. 

Examples of this include:

• My teacher had a pragmatic way of teaching math.

A more archaic definition for pragmatic is busy or opinionated. Someone might use this to describe a person that we would call a busybody in today’s time.

Pragmatic can also be an adverb that means to act practically and sensibly, like:

• The teacher responded pragmatically to the questions about city schools and the purpose of the student lounge.

What Is the Origin of the Word Pragmatic?

According to the Cambridge University Press, the word pragmatic originated in the late 16th century. At that time, pragmatic meant busy or conceited or interfering. 

This origin relates to late Latin prāgmaticus. Prāgmaticus was a noun that meant a person in the law who provided arguments of fact and a practical point of view to orators. They were similar to an attorney.

Prāgmaticus comes from the Greek pragmatikós, prāgmatikos, or pragmatikos, which meant something related to fact. One root of pragmatikos is prāgmata.

Prāgmat came from the Ancient Greek pragma, meaning act or deed. Prâgma or prāgma comes from the stem of prāssein, prattein, or prassein, which meant “to do.” 

The way we use the word pragmatic today can be traced back to the mid 19th century when a person used practical considerations to make decisions or approach various fields of study.

How Do We Use Pragmatic Today?

The word pragmatic relates to the concept of pragmatism. Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition. It considers that words and thoughts are tools or instruments used for problem-solving and practical actions. 

The philosophy of pragmatism began in the 1870s in the United States. Contributors to the origins of pragmatism were also philosophers. Three main philosophers are given the most credit for their contributions:

• Charles Sanders Peirce
• William James
• John Dewey

Pragmatists value philosophical topics’ logical and practical uses above all other viewpoints. A pragmatic person would agree with this philosophy.

Pragmatic in Literature

In literature, Thomas Carlyle, a philosopher, wrote the History of Frederick the Great and described his success in Prussia to draw the pragmatic conclusion of the Great Man Theory.

Pragmatic in Linguistics

In linguistics, pragmatics is the study of how meaning is derived from context. Pragmatics is akin to the theories of semantics and syntax. A person’s pragmatic competence is their ability to understand another speaker’s intended meaning or intentions through pragmatic cognition. 

In linguistic communication, the subfield of pragmatics, the speech act theory, looks at using natural language to carry out actions. The field was developed thanks to J.L. Austin and Paul Grice. They looked to study different aspects of meaning.

Pragmatic in Politics

In politics, a pragmatic leader believes in an imperial decree that becomes part of the fundamental law of the land through a practical view of the affairs of a state. 

Policymakers consider the fallout of political events in a specific situation. Pragmatic politics is not always a popular approach to state business.

Pragmatic in Business

In the business world, a pragmatic man of business would use a logical approach to solving a problem and considering stakeholders’ perspectives. Practical business decisions are often referred to as pragmatic because they rely on statistical evidence.

Pragmatic in Medicine

In medicine, a pragmatic approach considers the relevance of research before integrating research. Sometimes the uncertain translation of research makes the transition from theory to practice a slow process, especially for people who practice pragmatic health care.

A pragmatic health care worker would want to apply scientific findings and look for practical answers in their study of cause. They use examples of pragmatic methods and study pragmatic trials.

Pragmatic as a Trait

A pragmatic person would be described as someone who is guided more by practical consequences than by theories, dogma, or ideology. They draw practical lessons from events in history. They prefer more explanatory models.

A pragmatic person takes practical measures to reach a goal or solve a problem. They tend to be classified as hard-headed for their realistic views.

When a forecast is given using the lessons from practical experience, and practical models for solutions are drawn up, the approach is considered pragmatic.

What Are Synonyms for Pragmatic?

Synonyms help us express the same meaning using different words. This allows us to vary our words when we’re writing or speaking. Here are some of the synonyms for the word pragmatic:

• Practical
• Matter-of-fact
• Businesslike
• Down-to-earth
• Sensible
• Realistic
• Hard-headed
• Unsentimental
• Hard-nosed
• Rational
• Reasonable
• Expedient
• Commonsensical

What Are Antonyms for Pragmatic?

Antonyms help us when we want to convey the opposite of a word. If you wanted to describe someone who was not pragmatic, here are some of the antonyms you could use:

• Impractical
• Unrealistic
• Idealistic
• Irrational
• Nonsensical
• Silly
• Sentimental
• Unreasonable

What Are Examples of the Word Pragmatic?

Here are a few example sentences of how to use the word pragmatic:

• Pragmatic people can seem cold and distant.
• Will the people vote for the pragmatic leader or the charismatic leader?
• I felt she gave a very pragmatic reason for staying home.
• They chose a pragmatic chairman to lead the State Affairs Committee.
• It takes courage to be pragmatic in this new generation.
• The pragmatic labor leader was respected by his party.
• The sturdy furniture was more pragmatic than attractive.
• I prefer a pragmatic form of problem-solving.
• The teacher had a pragmatic view of public education.

Conclusion

Knowing the meaning of words is a pragmatic pursuit. Congratulations on learning a new word today, and have fun using it in your daily conversations!

Sources:

1. Pragmatic Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 
2. PRAGMATIC | Cambridge English Dictionary 
3. Pragmatism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) | Stanford University

Last Updated:
9 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• pragmatical
• pragmatick (archaic)
• pragmatique (obsolete)

Etymology[edit]

From Middle French pragmatique, from Late Latin pragmaticus (“relating to civil affair; in Latin, as a noun, a person versed in the law who furnished arguments and points to advocates and orators, a kind of attorney”), from Ancient Greek πραγματικός (pragmatikós, “active, versed in affairs”), from πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “a thing done, a fact”), in plural πράγματα (prágmata, “affairs, state affairs, public business, etc.”), from πράσσω (prássō, “to do”) (whence English practical).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /pɹæɡˈmætɪk/

Adjective[edit]

pragmatic (comparative more pragmatic, superlative most pragmatic)

1. Practical, concerned with making decisions and actions that are useful in practice, not just theory.

   The sturdy furniture in the student lounge was pragmatic, but unattractive.

   • 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 423:

     Nor indeed are these restrictions pragmatic in nature: i.e. the ill-formedness of the heed-sentences in (60) is entirely different in kind from the oddity of sentences like:
     (61) !That man will eat any car which thinks heʼs stupid
     which is purely pragmatic (i.e. lies in the fact that (61) describes the kind of bizarre situation which just doesnʼt happen in the world we are familiar with, where cars donʼt think, and people donʼt eat cars).

2. Philosophical; dealing with causes, reasons, and effects, rather than with details and circumstances; said of literature.

   • 1854 March, J. G., “On the Dating of Ancient History”, in Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology‎^[1], volume 1, page 53:

     Polybius’s pragmatic history is simply the history of affairs, as distinguished from the descriptive and often poetical character which much history before his time had.

   • 1856, Matthew Arnold, Poems, page 16:

     […] such objects belonged to the domain of the comic poet, and of the lighter kinds of poetry. For the more serious kinds, for pragmatic poetry, to use an excellent expression of Polybius, they were more difficult and severe in the range of subjects which they permitted.

3. Interfering in the affairs of others; officious; meddlesome.

Synonyms[edit]

• (practical): down-to-earth, functional, practical, utilitarian, realistic

Antonyms[edit]

• idealistic

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

pragmatic (plural pragmatics)

1. A man of business.
2. A busybody.
3. A public decree.

Further reading[edit]

• pragmatic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “pragmatic”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• «pragmatic» in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 240.

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French pragmatique.

Adjective[edit]

pragmatic m or n (feminine singular pragmatică, masculine plural pragmatici, feminine and neuter plural pragmatice)

1. pragmatic

Declension[edit]

Pragmatics is an important branch of linguistics in the English language. It helps us look beyond the literal meaning of words and utterances and allows us to focus on how meaning is constructed in specific contexts. When we communicate with other people, there is a constant negotiation of meaning between the listener and the speaker. Pragmatics looks at this negotiation and aims to understand what people mean when they communicate with each other.

Pragmatics looks at the difference between the literal meaning of words and their intended meaning in social contexts. It takes into account things such as irony, metaphor and intention.

The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (1995) defines pragmatics as:

The study of language which focuses attention on the users and the context of language use rather than on reference, truth, or grammar»

Pragmatics is a linguistic term and should not be confused with the adjective ‘pragmatic‘, which means dealing with things sensibly and practically.

What is the history of pragmatics?

Pragmatics in the English language is one of the youngest of the linguistic disciplines. However, its history can be traced back to the 1870s and the philosophers Charles Sanders Pierce, John Dewey, and William James.

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words as tools for understanding the world and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to mirror reality directly. Pragmatists suggest that all philosophical thought, including language, is best understood in terms of its practical uses.

In 1947, Charles Morris drew upon pragmatism and his background in philosophy, sociology, and anthropology to set out his theory of pragmatics in his book ‘Signs, Language and Behaviour‘. Morris said that pragmatics «deals with the origins, uses, and effects of signs within the total behaviour of the interpreters of signs.» ¹

In the case of pragmatics, signs refer to the movements, gestures, body language, and tone of voice that usually accompanies speech rather than physical signs, such as road signs.

What are some examples of pragmatics?

In this case, it is unlikely that your friend wants to hear the highs and lows of your entire week. A common answer would be something like, «Good thanks, and you? «

Fig. 1 — When people say «gosh, look at the time,» they never normally intend the literal meaning, Instead they’re implying they want to leave or end a conversation.

Why is pragmatics important?

Pragmatics is key to understanding language use in context and is a useful basis for understanding language interactions.

Imagine a world where you had to explain everything you meant in full; there could be no slang, jokes probably wouldn’t be funny, and conversations would be twice as long!

Let’s take a look at what life would be like without pragmatics.

‘What time do you call this?! ‘

Literal meaning = What time is it?

Real meaning = Why are you so late?!

Because of the insights of pragmatics, we know that the speaker does not actually want to know what time it is, but is making the point that the other person is late. In this case, it would be best to apologise rather than give the speaker the time!

Now, consider the following sentences. How many different meanings can they have? How important is context when inferring the meaning of each sentence?

Now consider these sentences. What context do we need for them to make sense?

All of these sentences contain demonstrative adjectives, such as these, that, and there. Context is essential for sentences with demonstrative adjectives to make sense.

The term for the usage of demonstrative adjectives is deixis. Deixis is completely reliant on context — these words and sentences don’t make any sense without context!

The ‘cooperative principle’ is a theory by Paul Grice. Grice’s theory explains how and why conversations tend to succeed rather than fail. Grice’s theory is based on the idea of cooperation; he suggests that speakers inherently want to cooperate when communicating, which helps remove any obstacles to understanding. In order to facilitate successful communication, Grice says that when we talk, it is important to say enough to get your point across, be truthful, be relevant, and be as clear as possible.

Pragmatics: politeness theory

Penelope Brown and Steven Levinson created ‘politeness theory’ in the 1970s. It seeks to explain how politeness in conversation works. Politeness theory was built around the concept of ‘saving face’ — this means maintaining your public image and avoiding humiliation.

Brown and Levinson suggest that we have two types of face: positive face and negative face.

«I know it’s a real pain, and I hope you don’t mind, but could you please print these off for me? «

Pragmatics: conversational implicature

‘Conversational implicature’, sometimes known simply as ‘implicature’, is another theory from Paul Grice. It looks at indirect speech acts. When examining implicatures, we want to know what the speaker means, even though they haven’t explicitly said it. It’s an indirect form of communication.

Nobody explicitly suggested changing the channel, but the meaning was implied.

What is the difference between pragmatics and semantics?

Semantics and pragmatics are two of the main branches of linguistics. While both semantics and pragmatics study the meaning of words in language, there are a couple of key differences between them.

Semantics refers to the meaning that grammar and vocabulary provide, and does not consider the context or inferred meanings. In contrast, pragmatics looks at the same words but in their social context. Pragmatics considers the relationship between social context and language.

Example 1.

«It’s cold in here, isn’t it?«

Semantics = the speaker is asking for confirmation that the room is cold.

Pragmatics = there may be another meaning associated with this question. For example, the speaker may be hinting that they want the heating turned on or the window closed. The context would make this clearer.

Here’s a handy table for you that sets out some of the key differences between semantics and pragmatics.

Semantics	Pragmatics
The study of words and their meanings.	The study of words and their meanings in context.
The literal meanings of words.	The intended meaning of words.
Limited to the relationship between words.	Covers the relationships between words, interlocutors (people engaged in a conversation), and context.

¹Charles W. Morris, Signs, Language and Behaviour, 1946

прагматический, практический, практичный, догматичный, самоуверенный

прилагательное

- филос. прагматический
- практичный; практический; утилитарный
- связанный с делами государства или общества; общественный
- деятельный; занятой
- вмешивающийся в чужие дела, назойливый
- (чрезмерно) самоуверенный; догматичный; безапелляционный

существительное

- практичный человек; прагматик
- назойливый, всюду лезущий человек
- самоуверенный человек

Словосочетания

a matter-of-fact (or pragmatic) approach to the problem — деловой (или прагматический) подход к данной проблеме  
pragmatic adverb — прагматическое наречие  
pragmatic jurisprudence — прагматическая школа права  
pragmatic knowledge — прагматические знания  
pragmatic meaning — прагматическое значение  
a pragmatic approach — практичный подход к  
pragmatic concept of truth — прагматическая концепция истины  
pragmatic description of language — прагматическое описание языка  
pragmatic presupposition — прагматическая пресуппозиция  
pragmatic rule — прагматическое правило; правило прагматики  
pragmatic sanctions — прагматические санкции  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Возможные однокоренные слова

pragmatical  — прагматический, практичный, практический, вмешивающийся в чужие дела
pragmatics  — прагматика