Meanings
plural use-mention distinctions
- uncountableusuallyhuman sciencesThe distinction between the use of a word for its meaning (as in cheese is derived from milk) and the mention of a word as a lexical unit (as in cheese is derived from a word in Old English); an instance of this distinction.
Thus, they purport to expand the domain of our judgments beyond all bounds of experience through concepts to which no corresponding object at all can be given in experience. For convenience, we ignore use-mention distinctions here and elsewhere.
2014, Thomas D. Sullivan, Russell Pannier -, Modern Challenges to Past Philosophy: Arguments and Responses, →ISBNSynonyms: words-as-words distinction
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe distinction between the use of a word for its meaning (as in cheese is derived from milk) and the mention of a word as a lexical unit (as in cheese is derived from a word in Old English); an instance of this distinction.
Cite this entry
use-mention distinction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/use-mention%20distinction
“use-mention distinction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/use-mention%20distinction. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “use-mention distinction,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/use-mention%20distinction.
Source: use-mention distinction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.