signifier

[ sig-nuh-fahy-er ]

noun

1. a person or thing that signifies.
2. Semiotics. something, such as an arrangement of sounds or symbols, an object, or an action, which constitutes a pattern or unit, and which communicates meaning. Compare signified ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of signifier¹

First recorded in 1525–35; signify + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Whole Foods replaced Mrs. Gooch’s, but after being deracinated by Amazon, it became passé, less and less a signifier of status.

From Los Angeles Times

This inverted perception: Where status once begot the signifier, the signifier now begot the status.

From Los Angeles Times

I do hope that color in this book loses its power as that kind of a signifier and instead, is an empowering statement.

From Salon

If the web makes it easy to uncouple sights and sounds from their sources, what will people remember of stations’ four-letter identifiers, those signifiers of pride and place, the call signs?

From Los Angeles Times

What are the signifiers of a Disney adult?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• explanation
• expression
• gesture
• hint
• implication
• inkling
• manifestation
• omen
• proof
• reminder
• sign
• signal
• suggestion
• symptom
• trace
• warning