signify Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb denote or connote
    intend; stand for; mean.
    • `maison' means `house' in French
    • An example sentence would show what this word means
  2. verb convey or express a meaning
    • These words mean nothing to me!
    • What does his strange behavior signify?
  3. verb make known with a word or signal
    • He signified his wish to pay the bill for our meal

WordNet

Sig"ni*fy transitive verb
Etymology
F. signifier, L. significare; signum a sign + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Sign, n., and -fy.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Signified ; present participle & verbal noun Signifying
Definitions
  1. To show by a sign; to communicate by any conventional token, as words, gestures, signals, or the like; to announce; to make known; to declare; to express; as, a signified his desire to be present.
    I 'll to the king; and signify to him That thus I have resign'd my charge to you. Shak.
    The government should signify to the Protestants of Ireland that want of silver is not to be remedied. Swift.
  2. To mean; to import; to denote; to betoken.
    He bade her tell him what it signified. Chaucer.
    A tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. Shak.
    ✍ Signify is often used impersonally; as, it signifies nothing, it does not signify, that is, it is of no importance. Syn. -- To express; manifest; declare; utter; intimate; betoken; denote; imply; mean.

Webster 1913