SIGNIFICATION

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

The message that is intended or expressed or signified

Example:

the import of his announcement was ambiguous

Synonyms:

import; meaning; significance; signification

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("signification" is a kind of...):

content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "signification"):

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)

sense; signified (the meaning of a word or expression; the way in which a word or expression or situation can be interpreted)

connotation; intension (what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression)

referent (something referred to; the object of a reference)

burden; core; effect; essence; gist (the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work)

intent; purport; spirit (the intended meaning of a communication)

lesson; moral (the significance of a story or event)

nicety; nuance; refinement; shade; subtlety (a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude)

overtone ((usually plural) an ulterior implicit meaning or quality)

point (a brief version of the essential meaning of something)

Derivation:

signify (denote or connote)