Signify
verb
To show, indicate, or suggest something.
The teacher's nod signified that the student was correct.
Often appears as...
- signify approval
- signify intent
verb
To represent an idea or quality.
In this poem, the autumn season signifies the passage of time.
Often appears as...
- signify time
- signify death
Usage tips
Literary
verb
To be a sign of something; to mean.
The red traffic light signifies that the vehicles must stop.
Often appears as...
- signify danger
- signify change
verb
To show, indicate, or suggest something.
The teacher's nod signified that the student was correct.
Often appears as...
- signify approval
- signify intent
verb
To represent an idea or quality.
In this poem, the autumn season signifies the passage of time.
Often appears as...
- signify time
- signify death
Usage tips
Literary
verb
To be a sign of something; to mean.
The red traffic light signifies that the vehicles must stop.
Often appears as...
- signify danger
- signify change
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Non-verbal Cues
Signify can refer to non-verbal communication that conveys a message without words.
His thumbs-up signified his satisfaction with the project.
Pro Tip 2/3Subtle Signals
Sometimes, 'signify' is used for slight actions that have a specific meaning among a certain group.
A subtle nod may signify agreement among members of the committee.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Indicators
'Signify' can describe actions that show emotional responses like approval or disapproval.
Folding her arms could signify her reluctance to participate.
Pro Tip 1/3Non-verbal Cues
Signify can refer to non-verbal communication that conveys a message without words.
His thumbs-up signified his satisfaction with the project.
Pro Tip 2/3Subtle Signals
Sometimes, 'signify' is used for slight actions that have a specific meaning among a certain group.
A subtle nod may signify agreement among members of the committee.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Indicators
'Signify' can describe actions that show emotional responses like approval or disapproval.
Folding her arms could signify her reluctance to participate.
Pro Tip 1/3Non-verbal Cues
Signify can refer to non-verbal communication that conveys a message without words.
His thumbs-up signified his satisfaction with the project.
Pro Tip 2/3Subtle Signals
Sometimes, 'signify' is used for slight actions that have a specific meaning among a certain group.
A subtle nod may signify agreement among members of the committee.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Indicators
'Signify' can describe actions that show emotional responses like approval or disapproval.
Folding her arms could signify her reluctance to participate.
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Video examples
How art can help you...
by articulating what is seen and what is not seen. This is particularly important in medicine. If an illness is evidenced by three symptoms and only two are present in a patient, a medical professional must explicitly state the absence of that third symptom, signifying that the patient
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 15 PIPE...
a completely different color it could be specifically in males to do with mating to signify the animals in good condition she's given up as wildebeest are walking away and she's looking a little bit forlorn that none of the rest of the pride want to come help her out on her hunt
Video examples
The function and fashion...
by the actual person that was wearing them, and then that personality trait was projected into the actual device. You had the aviator glasses, which showed a forward-thinking, adventurous type of person. Glasses with heavy frames signified intelligence
Video examples
Pirates, nurses and...
of a human skull and a pair of crossed bones, because those motifs had signified death in so many cultures for centuries, that their meaning was instantly recognizable, even in the lawless, illiterate world of the high surrender or you'll suffer.
Video examples
The 3,000-year history...
but at the same time, you can also feel the psychological aspects of it. I mean, think of donning a hoodie, all of a sudden, you feel more protected, you feel that you are in your own shell. We know very well what the hoodie has come to signify
Video examples
Eric Liu: Why ordinary...
has such a soporific, even a narcoleptic effect on us? I think it's because the very word signifies something exceedingly virtuous, exceedingly important, and exceedingly boring. Well, I think it's the responsibility of people like us,
Video examples
Why should you read "A...
and the nonsensical behavior of the people under its spell. The moon overlooks the action “like a silver bow,” signifying erratic behavior, the dark side of love, and the bewitching allure of a world where the usual rules don’t apply.
Video examples
How Hip Hop taught my...
signifying so every semester for some years now I've taught these fundamental skills of hip-hop writing so that these educators dare participate in the art of the cypher and every semester I witnessed the same exact patterns during
Video examples
How to Speak Chimpanzee...
Peter is spotted making a facial expression that signifies fear. The corners of the mouth are really withdrawn, and you can see the teeth. They also do this when they scream, so it can be slightly open.
Video examples
The surprising reason...
but collectively, they signify an ancient process that will continue barricading our bodies against the outside world for centuries to come.
Video examples
How art can help you...
by articulating what is seen and what is not seen. This is particularly important in medicine. If an illness is evidenced by three symptoms and only two are present in a patient, a medical professional must explicitly state the absence of that third symptom, signifying that the patient
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 15 PIPE...
a completely different color it could be specifically in males to do with mating to signify the animals in good condition she's given up as wildebeest are walking away and she's looking a little bit forlorn that none of the rest of the pride want to come help her out on her hunt
Video examples
The function and fashion...
by the actual person that was wearing them, and then that personality trait was projected into the actual device. You had the aviator glasses, which showed a forward-thinking, adventurous type of person. Glasses with heavy frames signified intelligence
Video examples
Pirates, nurses and...
of a human skull and a pair of crossed bones, because those motifs had signified death in so many cultures for centuries, that their meaning was instantly recognizable, even in the lawless, illiterate world of the high surrender or you'll suffer.
Video examples
The 3,000-year history...
but at the same time, you can also feel the psychological aspects of it. I mean, think of donning a hoodie, all of a sudden, you feel more protected, you feel that you are in your own shell. We know very well what the hoodie has come to signify
Video examples
Eric Liu: Why ordinary...
has such a soporific, even a narcoleptic effect on us? I think it's because the very word signifies something exceedingly virtuous, exceedingly important, and exceedingly boring. Well, I think it's the responsibility of people like us,
Video examples
Why should you read "A...
and the nonsensical behavior of the people under its spell. The moon overlooks the action “like a silver bow,” signifying erratic behavior, the dark side of love, and the bewitching allure of a world where the usual rules don’t apply.
Video examples
How Hip Hop taught my...
signifying so every semester for some years now I've taught these fundamental skills of hip-hop writing so that these educators dare participate in the art of the cypher and every semester I witnessed the same exact patterns during
Video examples
How to Speak Chimpanzee...
Peter is spotted making a facial expression that signifies fear. The corners of the mouth are really withdrawn, and you can see the teeth. They also do this when they scream, so it can be slightly open.
Video examples
The surprising reason...
but collectively, they signify an ancient process that will continue barricading our bodies against the outside world for centuries to come.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Jordan Peterson
Canadian Psychologist
We're so immaturely cynical as a culture. We're not wise enough to look at an institution like marriage and to really things about what it means and what it signifies. It signifies a place where people can tie the ropes of their lives together so that they're stronger. It signifies a place where people can tell the truth to one another.
Quote examples
William Shakespeare
English Playwright
This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honour, is but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Quote examples
Martha Plimpton
American Model
I've often said in the past that I thought MTV was sort of evil incarnate and signified the beginning of the end. And I don't know if I'm entirely wrong about that, but they did sign my paychecks a year ago, so I guess I'm part of the problem.
Quote examples
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Roman Statesman
I will govern my life and thoughts as if the whole world were to see the one and read the other, for what does it signify to make anything a secret to my neighbor, when to God, who is the searcher of our hearts, all our privacies are open?
Quote examples
Elton John
English Musician
We live in an age, in an era where there is so much negativity, there is so much violence in the world, there is so much unrest and people are at war, that I wanted to promote the word love and red signifies love.
Quote examples
Margaret Heffernan
American Businesswoman
Many CEOs and leaders think that silence is indeed golden, that consensus is bliss. It is - sometimes. But more often what it signifies is that there are no respected processes for surfacing concerns and dissent.
Quote examples
Otto Weininger
Austrian Philosopher
The fixed stars signify the angel in man. That is why man orients himself by them; and that is why women have no appreciation for the starry sky; because they have no sense of the angel in man.
Quote examples
Jhumpa Lahiri
American Author
If you look at my characters as a group, they all have a different relationship with the way that places can signify emotion in them - and the way those bonds can be shattered.
Quote examples
Michael Ende
German Writer
Calendars and clocks exist to measure time, but that signifies little because we all know that an hour can seem as eternity or pass in a flash, according to how we spend it.
Quote examples
Herbert Kaufman
American Writer
Words signify man's refusal to accept the world as it is.
Quote examples
Jordan Peterson
Canadian Psychologist
We're so immaturely cynical as a culture. We're not wise enough to look at an institution like marriage and to really things about what it means and what it signifies. It signifies a place where people can tie the ropes of their lives together so that they're stronger. It signifies a place where people can tell the truth to one another.
Quote examples
William Shakespeare
English Playwright
This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honour, is but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Quote examples
Martha Plimpton
American Model
I've often said in the past that I thought MTV was sort of evil incarnate and signified the beginning of the end. And I don't know if I'm entirely wrong about that, but they did sign my paychecks a year ago, so I guess I'm part of the problem.
Quote examples
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Roman Statesman
I will govern my life and thoughts as if the whole world were to see the one and read the other, for what does it signify to make anything a secret to my neighbor, when to God, who is the searcher of our hearts, all our privacies are open?
Quote examples
Elton John
English Musician
We live in an age, in an era where there is so much negativity, there is so much violence in the world, there is so much unrest and people are at war, that I wanted to promote the word love and red signifies love.
Quote examples
Margaret Heffernan
American Businesswoman
Many CEOs and leaders think that silence is indeed golden, that consensus is bliss. It is - sometimes. But more often what it signifies is that there are no respected processes for surfacing concerns and dissent.
Quote examples
Otto Weininger
Austrian Philosopher
The fixed stars signify the angel in man. That is why man orients himself by them; and that is why women have no appreciation for the starry sky; because they have no sense of the angel in man.
Quote examples
Jhumpa Lahiri
American Author
If you look at my characters as a group, they all have a different relationship with the way that places can signify emotion in them - and the way those bonds can be shattered.
Quote examples
Michael Ende
German Writer
Calendars and clocks exist to measure time, but that signifies little because we all know that an hour can seem as eternity or pass in a flash, according to how we spend it.
Quote examples
Herbert Kaufman
American Writer
Words signify man's refusal to accept the world as it is.
Example 1 of 10
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