Which statement best describes semantic broadening?

• A. A A word's meaning narrows to a more specific sense
• B. B A word's meaning broadens to cover more referents
• C. C A word changes pronunciation over time
• D. D A word is replaced by a synonym

Answer: (B)

Semantic broadening happens when a word’s meaning expands to cover more things than it did before. A classic example is the word mouse, which originally referred to a small rodent and only later came to describe the computer input device because of its shape and use; the range of referents the word covers has grown. Another clear example is broadcast, which moved from meaning to scatter seeds to mean to transmit radio or television signals to a wide audience. So, the statement that describes semantic broadening is the one saying a word’s meaning broadens to cover more referents.

The other ideas describe different changes: a narrowing would shrink a word’s scope, pronunciation change is about sound, and replacing a word with a synonym changes wording rather than the scope of meaning.