What is the literal meaning of a word or utterance called?

• A. Semantic meaning
• B. Pragmatic meaning
• C. Lexical meaning
• D. Denotative meaning

Answer: (A)

Literal meaning is the denotative meaning—the direct reference of a word. It’s the specific thing in the world that the term points to when you think of its most basic, literal import. Semantic meaning covers more than just the direct reference; it includes the sense or concept a word encodes, which can carry nuances beyond the exact object or idea. Pragmatic meaning deals with how context, speaker intention, and situation shift interpretation. Lexical meaning relates to the dictionary sense of a word, the conventional meaning stored in our mental lexicon. Because the question asks for the literal, referential meaning, denotative meaning is the best fit.