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# signify

«signify» in Mova's school dictionary: **To be a sign of something; to mean something (dark clouds…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

verb (signify, signifies, signified, signifying)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) To be a sign of something; to mean something (dark clouds signify rain). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#m1)

2) (formal) To show or make known a feeling or wish, often by a sign or action (she nodded to signify yes). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#m2)

3) (formal) To be important (it does not signify). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

A formal exam word: «What does the symbol × signify?» means «what does it mean?». In maths, symbols signify operations (+ signifies addition). In science, signs signify changes. Phrases: «signify that», «signify agreement».

### examples

- The plus sign signifies addition. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#x1)
- A red light signifies stop. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#x2)
- Dark clouds often signify rain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#x3)
- She raised her hand to signify that she knew the answer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#x4)
- What does this symbol on the map signify? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#x5)
- The ≥ sign signifies «greater than or equal to». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#x6)
- [79] The Russian word krof also signifies blood. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/signify/#x7)

### note

Formal; everyday: «mean», «show». Noun «significance», adjective «significant» (important). Past «signified» (y changes to i). In maths: always check what each symbol signifies before calculating.

### Trees and pragmatics

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