phatic communion

noun

Communication that takes place primarily for social purposes rather than for the exchange of vital information, such as small talk and social pleasantries.

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Meanings

nounphatic communion (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesCommunication that takes place primarily for social purposes rather than for the exchange of vital information, such as small talk and social pleasantries.

    We believe that it is in this spoken world, where people engage in phatic communion and indulge in the give-and-take of interpersonal socialising and the negotiation of personality, identity, friendship and connection [...] that one can best get a view of language vitality.

    2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 8
Cite this entry
APA

phatic communion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phatic%20communion

MLA

“phatic communion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phatic%20communion. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phatic communion,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phatic%20communion.

Source: phatic communion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.