signification

sig·ni·fi·ca·tion  (sgn-f-kshn)

n.

1. The established meaning of a word. See Synonyms at meaning.

2. The act of signifying; indication.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

signification - 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" meaning, significance, import 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"