Definition of PHATIC

phatic

Meanings

Plural: phatics

Adj

  • Pertaining to words used to convey any kind of social relationship and whose meaning is otherwise either deemphasized or absent.

Noun

  • A phatic utterance.

Origin / Etymology

From Ancient Greek φατός (phatós, “spoken”) - from φημί (phēmí, “I say”) - + -ic.
Probably formally influenced by emphatic, which predates this term.

Scrabble Score: 13

phatic is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
phatic is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
phatic is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

phatic is a valid Words With Friends word