Phatic definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Cupertino effect the small talk that often passes for conversation at work: phatic communion the trick of using a single adverb -- boosting comedian Stephen Colbert's way of closing his program by thanking "all the people who made this show possible -- thank you, Stephen Colbert":

—About.com Grammar & Composition

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Definitions (1)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

adjective Of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas.

Century Dictionary

GNU Webster's 1913

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Examples (5)

Cupertino effect the small talk that often passes for conversation at work: phatic communion the trick of using a single adverb -- boosting comedian Stephen Colbert's way of closing his program by thanking "all the people who made this show possible -- thank you, Stephen Colbert": — About.com Grammar & Composition
What we're doing is transplanting a natural face-to-face behaviour, phatic expressiveness. — Strange Attractor
Fizzee is unique as a digital pet that is not solely phatic technology — Recently Uploaded Slideshows
This is similar to what I was saying in Omisyth's original post: some blogs, specifically episodic posts, function as phatic modes of communication. — Anime Nano!
Mixture of phatic technology and informative device (encouraging social interaction whilst providing personal health data) — Recently Uploaded Slideshows