An idiom, on the other hand, is non-compositional — its meaning is not composed of the meaning of its words. In the most rigid idioms, the words cannot be varied in any way, as the free word combination words can.

What is compositional and non-compositional?

According to the 'noncompositional approach', idioms are represented and processed similar to long words. In contrast, the 'compositional. approach' emphasizes the semantic contribution of an idiom's component word meanings in. interpretation.

What does it mean for idioms to be non-compositional?

An idiom is defined as a non-compositional multiword expression, one whose meaning cannot be deduced from the definitions of the component words. ... We find that there is no discernible relation between these two measures of idiom sentiment.