Disambiguation

Word sense disambiguation (WSD) is an unsolved problem in natural language processing that consists in selecting the meaning (or sense) of an ambiguous word or phrase depending on the context in which it appears. This problem arises in discourse analysis, in optimizing the relevance of search engine results, in resolving anaphoric references, in studying the linguistic coherence of a text, and in reasoning analysis.

- The resolution of lexical ambiguity: a way of choosing the precise meaning of a word from among existing homonyms while taking the surrounding context into account. Total disambiguation, as semantic ontologists put it, once driven out the door, inevitably comes back through the window.

- A process that is part of search. It consists in selecting the relevant meaning from among words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. On portable electronic devices, a QWERTY keyboard may use a disambiguation function. The device suggests options in the form of a default word plus several additional alternatives.

- A special software tool that is part of search algorithms and operates on ambiguous words entered by Internet users into the search box. Disambiguation appeared in one form or another.