signify

[sig-nuh-fahy]

verb (used with object)

signified, signifying 

1. to make known by signs, speech, or action.

   Synonyms: indicate, express, signal

2. to be a sign of; mean; portend.

   Synonyms: imply, betoken, denote, indicate, represent

verb (used without object)

signified, signifying 

1. to be of importance or consequence.

signify

/ ˈsɪɡnɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to indicate, show, or suggest

2. (tr) to imply or portend

   the clouds signified the coming storm

3. (tr) to stand as a symbol, sign, etc (for)

4. informal,  (intr) to be significant or important

Other Word Forms

• signifiable adjective
• unsignifiable adjective
• signifier noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of signify¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English signifien, from Old French signifier, from Latin significāre “to make a sign, indicate, mention, denote”; equivalent to sign + -ify

Word History and Origins

Origin of signify¹

C13: from Old French signifier, from Latin significāre, from signum a sign, mark + facere to make

Example Sentences

Many readers will know what these numbers signify, remarkable achievements that most of us have enjoyed all our lives.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But falling between the violin’s soaring brilliance and the cello’s corporeality, the viola also signifies transition.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But before long the security men hauled in the bodies uncovered, marked with numbers signifying which prison or security branch they had died in, along with a number assigned to them.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I touch my chin with my thumb and move my hand forward in two small arches to signify the word Grandma.

Read more on Literature

The arrangement signifies a shift in power dynamics, as Google currently pays Apple an estimated $20 billion annually.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• add up to 
• bespeak 
• convey 
• imply 
• manifest 
• portend 
• proclaim 
• represent 
• spell 
• stand for 
• suggest 
• symbolize