Referent (Noun)

The first term in a proposition; the term to which other terms relate.

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.

The referent in the proposition "all cats are mammals" is "cats", as it is the term to which the other terms relate.
In the sentence "the tall man walked in", "man" is the referent, as it is the central term that determines the meaning of the other descriptors.
The referent in the statement "the woman was happy" is "woman", as it is the main subject to which the predicate "was happy" is attached.
In the phrase "the city by the lake", "city" is the referent, as it is the central term that is modified by the descriptive phrase "by the lake".
The term "student" is the referent in the sentence "some students graduated", as it is the main subject to which the other terms, such as "some" and "graduated", relate.

Something referred to; the object of a reference.

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.

The president of the company was the referent for the sales team, as they would often seek her guidance on important deals.
The philosopher argued that the meaning of a word was determined by its relationship to the referent, the thing or concept it represented.
In the psychology study, the participants were asked to identify the referent of the ambiguous sentence, which was intended to measure their comprehension skills.
The term "they" is an anaphor that requires a clear referent in the sentence or paragraph to avoid confusion.
The speaker's use of pronouns without a clear referent left the audience struggling to follow his argument.

Something that refers; a term that refers to another term.

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.

The word "dog" is a referent to the actual animal it describes.
In linguistics, a symbol is a referent to the concept or object it represents.
The term "he" is a referent to a previously mentioned male character in the story.
A metaphorical expression often has a referent that is not explicitly stated.
The phrase "the big house" is a referent to the main building on the estate.