Library / English Dictionary

SIGNIFY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: signified   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Denote or connote

Example:

An example sentence would show what this word means

Synonyms:

intend; mean; signify; stand for

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Verb group:

signify (convey or express a meaning)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "signify"):

denote; refer (have as a meaning)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

sign (a character indicating a relation between quantities)

signification (the message that is intended or expressed or signified)

signifier (the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Convey or express a meaning

Example:

What does his strange behavior signify?

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "signify" is one way to...):

intend; mean (mean or intend to express or convey)

Verb group:

intend; mean; signify; stand for (denote or connote)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

sign (a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened))

sign (any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message)

sign (a character indicating a relation between quantities)

sign (a gesture that is part of a sign language)

significance (the message that is intended or expressed or signified)

significant (rich in significance or implication)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make known with a word or signal

Example:

He signified his wish to pay the bill for our meal

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "signify" is one way to...):

indicate (to state or express briefly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

significant (rich in significance or implication)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The documentary claims expert analysis confirmed these streaks likely signify a large fire in a fuel store.

(UK documentary claims fire weakened RMS Titanic, Wikinews)

Meanwhile, niacin and antioxidants showed a very small effect that might signify an increased risk of death from any cause.

(Most Popular Supplements Provide No Health Benefit, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It’s also difficult to pinpoint what these patterns from the past could signify for Earth’s future.

(A new study is the first to measure the time lags between changing ocean currents and major climate shifts., University of Cambridge)

Abnormality of the P wave signifies aberrant propagation of the electrical impulse through the atria.

(P Wave Abnormality by ECG Finding, NCI Thesaurus)

Think of a clock, with both hands on the 12—that’s a conjunction and signifies the start of an entirely new cycle.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The word is strongly expressive in their language, but not easily rendered into English; it signifies, “to retire to his first mother.”

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Had she been a person of consequence herself, he would have come I dare say; and it would not have signified whether he did or no.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

If we were not related, it would not signify; but as cousins, she would feel scrupulous as to any proposal of ours.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

The bay mares seemed to know what that white puff in front of us signified, and they stretched themselves like greyhounds.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Signifies an intermediary who is responsible for transferring a piece of mail between the postal system and the final addressee.

(Care Of, NCI Thesaurus)