meaning

mean·ing  (mnng)

n.

1. Something that is conveyed or signified; sense or significance.

2. Something that one wishes to convey, especially by language: The writer's meaning was obscured by his convoluted prose.

3. An interpreted goal, intent, or end: "The central meaning of his pontificate is to restore papal authority" (Conor Cruise O'Brien).

4. Inner significance: "But who can comprehend the meaning of the voice of the city?" (O. Henry).

adj.

1. Full of meaning; expressive.

2. Disposed or intended in a specified manner. Often used in combination: a well-meaning fellow; ill-meaning intentions.

Synonyms: meaning, acceptation, import, sense, significance, signification
These nouns refer to the idea conveyed by something, such as a word, action, gesture, or situation: Synonyms are words with the same or nearly the same meaning. In one of its acceptations value is a technical term in music. The import of his statement is ambiguous. The term anthropometry has only one sense. The significance of a green traffic light is widely understood. Linguists have determined the hieroglyphics' signification.

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meaning [ˈmiːnɪŋ]

n

1. the sense or significance of a word, sentence, symbol, etc.; import; semantic or lexical content

2. the purpose underlying or intended by speech, action, etc.

3. the inner, symbolic, or true interpretation, value, or message the meaning of a dream

4. valid content; efficacy a law with little or no meaning

5. (Philosophy) Philosophy

a.  the sense of an expression; its connotation

b.  the reference of an expression; its denotation. In recent philosophical writings meaning can be used in both the above senses See also sense [13]

adj

expressive of some sense, intention, criticism, etc. a meaning look See also well-meaning

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	meaning - the message that is intended or expressed or signified; "what is the meaning of this sentence"; "the significance of a red traffic light"; "the signification of Chinese characters"; "the import of his announcement was ambiguous" signification, import, significance subject matter, content, message, substance - what a communication that is about something is about lexical meaning - the meaning of a content word that depends on the nonlinguistic concepts it is used to express grammatical meaning - the meaning of a word that depends on its role in a sentence; varies with inflectional form symbolisation, symbolization - the use of symbols to convey meaning signified, sense - the meaning of a word or expression; the way in which a word or expression or situation can be interpreted; "the dictionary gave several senses for the word"; "in the best sense charity is really a duty"; "the signifier is linked to the signified" connotation, intension - what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression referent - something referred to; the object of a reference gist, burden, essence, effect, core - the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work purport, intent, spirit - the intended meaning of a communication moral, lesson - the significance of a story or event; "the moral of the story is to love thy neighbor" nuance, subtlety, nicety, refinement, shade - a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude; "without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor"; "don't argue about shades of meaning" overtone - (usually plural) an ulterior implicit meaning or quality; "overtones of despair" point - a brief version of the essential meaning of something; "get to the point"; "he missed the point of the joke"; "life has lost its point"
	2.	meaning - the idea that is intended; "What is the meaning of this proverb?" substance idea, thought - the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about; "it was not a good idea"; "the thought never entered my mind" semantics - the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text; "a petty argument about semantics" implication, significance, import - a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred; "the significance of his remark became clear only later"; "the expectation was spread both by word and by implication" tenor, strain - the general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument" undercurrent, undertone - a subdued emotional quality underlying an utterance; implicit meaning denotation, reference, extension - the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; "the extension of `satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos" reference - the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to; "he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes" connotation - an idea that is implied or suggested
Adj.	1.	meaning - rich in significance or implication; "a meaning look" pregnant, significant meaningful - having a meaning or purpose; "a meaningful explanation"; "a meaningful discussion"; "a meaningful pause"

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meaning

noun

1. significance, message, explanation, substance, value, import, implication, drift, interpretation, essence, purport, connotation, upshot, gist, signification I became more aware of the symbols and their meanings.

2. definition, sense, interpretation, explication, elucidation, denotation arguing over the exact meaning of this word or that

3. purpose, point, end, idea, goal, design, aim, object, intention Unsure of the meaning of this remark, he remained silent.

4. force, use, point, effect, value, worth, consequence, thrust, validity, usefulness, efficacy a challenge that gives meaning to life

adjective

expressive, meaningful, pointed, revealing, significant, speaking, pregnant, suggestive, telltale He nodded and gave me a meaning look.

Translations

meaning [ˈmiːnɪŋ]

A. N

1. (= sense) [of word] → significado m, acepción f; [of phrase] → significado m; [of life, work] → sentido m
this word has lots of meanings → esta palabra tiene muchos significados or muchas acepciones
life has no meaning for her now → ahora para ella la vida no tiene sentido
double meaning → doble sentido
do you get my meaning? → ¿me entiendes?, ¿me comprendes?
he doesn't know the meaning of the word (fig) → ni sabe lo que eso significa
what's the meaning of "hick"? → ¿qué significa "hick"?, ¿qué quiere decir "hick"?
what's the meaning of this? (as reprimand) → ¿se puede saber qué significa esto?

2. (= intention) → intención f, propósito m
a look full of meaning → una mirada llena de intención
to mistake sb's meaning → malinterpretar la intención de algn

B. ADJ [look etc] → significativo, lleno de intención

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meaning [ˈmiːnɪŋ] n

[word] → sens m
two words with similar meanings → deux mots aux sens similaires
she doesn't know the meaning of the word! (= doesn't understand the concept) → elle ne sait pas ce que cela veut dire!, elle ne connaît pas le sens du mot!

(= significance) → sens m
to give meaning to sth → donner un sens à qch
a challenge that gives a meaning to life → un défi qui donne un sens à la vie

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meaning

adj look etc → vielsagend, bedeutsam

n → Bedeutung f; (= sense: of words, poem etc also) → Sinn m; a look full of meaning → ein bedeutungsvoller or bedeutsamer Blick; what’s the meaning of (the word) “hick”? → was soll das Wort „hick“ heißen or bedeuten?; to mistake somebody’s meaning → jdn missverstehen; do you get my meaning? → haben Sie mich (richtig) verstanden?; you don’t know the meaning of love/hunger → du weißt ja gar nicht, was Liebe/Hunger ist or bedeutet; what’s the meaning of this? → was hat denn das zu bedeuten?, was soll denn das (heißen)?

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meaning [ˈmiːnɪŋ] n → significato, senso
a look full of meaning → uno sguardo eloquente
do you get my meaning? → capisci cosa voglio dire?
what's the meaning of this? (as reprimand) → e questo cosa significa?

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meaning [ˈmiːnɪŋ] n → significato, senso
a look full of meaning → uno sguardo eloquente
do you get my meaning? → capisci cosa voglio dire?
what's the meaning of this? (as reprimand) → e questo cosa significa?

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meaning → معنى význam betydning Bedeutung σημασία significado merkitys signification značenje significato 意味 뜻 betekenis betydning znaczenie significado значение betydelse ความหมาย anlam ý nghĩa 含意