Term: Deixis

Definition:

Words or phrases that can only be understood from the context of the text or utterance where they are found are deictic:

Tom's interview was about to start and he was feeling nervous about it.

Here, from the context, we know that he refers to Tom and it refers to the interview; these are examples of deixis.

See Also: Anaphora; Cataphora; Endophora; Exophora

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