Antonyms for signify


Grammar : Verb
Spell : sig-nuh-fahy
Phonetic Transcription : ˈsɪg nəˌfaɪ


Definition of signify

Origin :
  • late 13c., "be a sign of, indicate, mean," from Old French signifier (12c.), from Latin significare "to make signs, show by signs, point out, express; mean, signify; foreshadow, portend," from significus (adj.), from signum "sign" (see sign (n.)) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Intransitive sense of "to be of importance" is attested from 1660s. Meaning "engage in mock-hostile banter" is American English black slang first recorded 1932.
  • ...'signifying,' which in Harlemese means making a series of oblique remarks apparently addressed to no one in particular, but unmistakable in intention in such a close-knit circle. ["Down Beat," March 7, 1968]
  • verb mean, indicate
  • verb be of importance
Example sentences :
  • But if you determine as we would have you, and signify it to us, we shall not stand with you for a week or so.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • Signify to us, now, therefore, your compliance with our wishes.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • Nelson replied: "Take your choice, Hardy, it does not signify much."
  • Extract from : « The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson » by Robert Southey
  • If they do not, and if I should have occasion, I can but signify my wants to so ready a friend.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • What will signify expostulations against a ceremony performed?
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • This word does not signify the same thing as with us, gentle reader.
  • Extract from : « Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845 » by Various
  • And Miss Miggs cast up her eyes to signify where that might be.
  • Extract from : « Barnaby Rudge » by Charles Dickens
  • It is remarkable that both terms also signify certain kinds of wood.
  • Extract from : « Y Gododin » by Aneurin
  • She will take a wrong view of my character, but what does that signify?
  • Extract from : « The First Violin » by Jessie Fothergill
  • After all, what does it signify, whether cleanliness be owing to nature or to art?
  • Extract from : « The Memoirs of Count Grammont, Complete » by Anthony Hamilton

Synonyms for signify

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019