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significatory

significatory

9.7
Showing or pointing to a meaning
  • adjective
  • /sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəˌtɔri/
translation icon : significativo
  • The artist used colors and shapes that had a significatory role in conveying emotions.

Examples

  • These render obvious the significatory function of beadwork, but the meanings of the written statements were often unclear, even within the territory of their creation.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The modernist binary of language or the world here gives way to a materiality that spurns both the representational and the significatory dimensions of the linguistic sign.

    Academic text (1995)
  • How then, finally, to view, to read the significatory systems in beadwork?

    Academic text (2003)
  • In literature, symbols often serve a significatory purpose, representing deeper themes.

  • The flags displayed at the ceremony were significatory of the nation's history and values.

Synonyms

symbolic
vssignificatory
158 4.3

A way of showing meaning using a color, object or action

serves more generally to indicate or act as a sign than to represent
significant
vssignificatory
69 4.9

Having a hidden meaning often shown by a look or pause

is the broader role of showing meaning beyond indirect gestures
indicative
vssignificatory
64 4.7

Showing a sign that something is happening

acts as a clearer sign rather than a mere suggestion
significative
vssignificatory
  • Formal
9.7

Showing clearly that something is true or important

is the general term used across contexts rather than a formal label
symbolical
vssignificatory
7.3

That shows an idea by a sign or object

aims more at functioning as a general sign than at representation
emblematical
vssignificatory
8.9

Acting as a symbol of an idea like peace or courage

is broader, covering any sign not only visible or decorative

How Indicative

telling
4.4
revealing
38 4.0
significatory
9.7
indicative
64 4.7
suggestive
18 5.2

Surface Forms

significatory positive

Morphology

significatory = signify (semi-transparent) = signific + atory

The suffix 'atory' is a standard formation, but the connection to 'signify' may not be immediately clear to all learners.

Etymology

Significatory comes from the Latin significare, where sign means 'sign' and -ficare means 'to make'. So something significatory 'makes a sign' or shows 'meaning', which is why we use it for things that indicate or point to something.