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# signified

«signified» in Mova's school dictionary: **the past form of signify: it means showed, meant or stood…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

verb (signify, signifies, signified, signifying — past form); noun (the signified — in the study of language and signs)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Signified is the past form of signify: it means showed, meant or stood for. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#m1)

2) It can mean made known by a sign or action: «She signified that she agreed by nodding.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#m2)

3) (formal, language study) The signified is the idea or meaning that a word or sign points to, as opposed to the sound or letters (the signifier). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In English lessons it helps say what a symbol, colour or gesture means in a story: «The dark clouds signified danger.» In history it is used for events: «The fall of the wall signified the end of an era.» In language study the word and its idea are called the signifier and the signified. Phrases: signified that, signified the end of, signified agreement.

### examples

- The red flag signified that swimming was not safe. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#x1)
- The bell signified the end of break. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#x2)
- She signified her agreement with a quick nod. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#x3)
- In the story, the white dove signified peace. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#x4)
- The teacher's raised hand signified that we should be quiet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#x5)
- The ancient carving signified the sun god. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#x6)
- (formal) The word «dog» is the signifier; the idea of a dog is the signified. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#x7)
- The name Palatine, which originally signified a pastoral colony, is derived from this divinity. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/#x8)

### note

Signify changes y to i: signify, signifies, signified, but signifying. It is a more formal word for «meant» or «showed». In maths, a symbol «signifies» something: the + sign signifies adding.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «signified» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signified/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.