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Language


Ambiguity   Uncertainty of meaning that arises when a word or phrase has two or more clearly distinct meanings and the context does not make clear which meaning is intended, 107--109, 153; semantic and syntactical, 108
Amphiboly   A sentence that can be understood in more than one way because of faulty sentence structure, 108. See also Syntactical ambiguity
Circular definition   A definition that defines a word or phrase in terms of itself, 119
Connotation   Ideas, images, or feelings suggested by a word that may not be part of the word's literal meaning, 124-125
Definition by genus and difference   A definition that assigns a meaning to a word by identifying a class to which things named by the word belong and then noting how those things differ from other things in the class, 117--118, 120
Definition by subclass   A definition that assigns a meaning to a word by naming subclasses of the class that the word refers to, 115, 120
Denotation   The literal meaning of a word (as contrasted with any ideas or feelings that conventionally associated with a word but not part of the word's literal meaning), 124. In logic and philosophy of language, the object or objects referred to by a word
Emotive language   Words or phrases used primarily to express or evoke emotions, 122-129
Enumerative definition   A strategy for defining that seeks to clarify the meaning of a word by listing some or all of the individual things named by the word, 115, 120
Etymological definition   A strategy for defining that seeks to clarify the meaning of a word by noting facts about the history or ancestry of the word, 115--116
Euphemisms   Mild or evasive words that take the place of harsh or negative words, 134-137
Overgeneral statement   A statement that is excessively general (nonspecific) in a particular context, 106--107
Persuasive definition   A definition intended to create a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the thing defined, 113, 120
Precising definition   A definition intended to make a vague term more precise, 114, 120
Premises   Statements in an argument offered as reasons or evidence for a conclusion, 25, 50; evaluating, 99-101, 223-227; listing opposing, 422; listing supporting, 420-421
Semantic ambiguity   Ambiguity that results from uncertainty about the meaning of an individual word or phrase, rather than from faulty grammar or sentence structure, 108
Syntactical ambiguity   Ambiguity that results from faulty grammar or sentence structure, 108. See also Amphiboly
Vague language   Language that is fuzzy or inexact and hence gives rise to borderline cases in which it is difficult or impossible to tell whether the word or phrase applies to that thing or not, 105--106; in pseudoscience, 519--520
Verbal dispute   A dispute caused by disagreement over the meaning of a word, rather than by disagreement over a matter of fact, 109