| Library / English Dictionary |
SIGNIFICATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The message that is intended or expressed or signified
Example:
the import of his announcement was ambiguous
Synonyms:
import; meaning; significance; signification
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("signification" is a kind of...):
content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "signification"):
lexical meaning (the meaning of a content word that depends on the nonlinguistic concepts it is used to express)
grammatical meaning (the meaning of a word that depends on its role in a sentence; varies with inflectional form)
symbolisation; symbolization (the use of symbols to convey meaning)
sense; signified (the meaning of a word or expression; the way in which a word or expression or situation can be interpreted)
connotation; intension (what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression)
referent (something referred to; the object of a reference)
burden; core; effect; essence; gist (the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work)
intent; purport; spirit (the intended meaning of a communication)
lesson; moral (the significance of a story or event)
nicety; nuance; refinement; shade; subtlety (a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude)
overtone ((usually plural) an ulterior implicit meaning or quality)
point (a brief version of the essential meaning of something)
Derivation:
signify (denote or connote)
