| English Dictionary |
SIGNIFY (signified)
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does signify mean?
• SIGNIFY (verb)
The verb SIGNIFY has 3 senses:
1. denote or connote
2. convey or express a meaning
3. make known with a word or signal
Familiarity information: SIGNIFY used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it signifies Past simple: signified
Past participle: signified
-ing form: signifying
Sense 1
Meaning:
Denote or connote
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
intend; mean; signify; stand for
Context example:
An example sentence would show what this word means
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
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Context example:
What does his strange behavior signify?
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
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Context example:
He signified his wish to pay the bill for our meal
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)
Context examples
Oh! That will not signify; I never mind dirt.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
The world may laugh—may call me absurd, selfish—but it does not signify.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Even now I see what you have done, but I don’t know how you did it or what it signifies.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Therefore, what does that signify to ME!
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Not these countenances, I am sure, looking towards the Miss Bertrams; and for a theatre, what signifies a theatre?
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
She was sure they should be married some time or other, and it did not much signify when.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
A code that signifies the end of a line.
(Line Break, NCI Thesaurus)
"Had I known as much half an hour ago—But since I AM here,"—speaking with a forced vivacity as he returned to his seat—"what does it signify?
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
The name and its magic signified nothing to him.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Poverty, to Ruth, was a word signifying a not-nice condition of existence.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives." (Native American proverb, Sioux)
"Don't delay today's work until tomorrow." (Arabic proverb)
"Cover your candle, it will light more." (Egyptian proverb)