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Definition 2024
signifier
signifier
English
Noun
signifier (plural signifiers)
- Something or someone that signfies, makes something more significant or important.
- 2008, Diane Rubenstein, This is Not a President: Sense, Nonsense, and the American Political Imaginary
- If commentators have concurred on the characterization of Reagan as a synecdoche, they have also noted his status as a signifier.
- 2008, Diane Rubenstein, This is Not a President: Sense, Nonsense, and the American Political Imaginary
- (linguistics) The sound of spoken word or string of letters on a page that a person recognizes as a sign.
Translations
something or someone that signfies, makes something more significant or important
(linguistics) the sound of spoken word or string of letters on a page that a person recognizes as a sign
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Related terms
See also
intension on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
French
Etymology
From Latin significō, significāre, from signum (“mark, sign, emblem”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /si.ɲi.fje/
Verb
signifier
Conjugation
Conjugation of signifier (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | signifier | avoir signifié | |||||
| gerund | en signifiant | en ayant signifié | |||||
| present participle | signifiant /si.ɲi.fjɑ̃/ |
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| past participle | signifié /si.ɲi.fje/ |
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| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | signifie /si.ɲi.fi/ |
signifies /si.ɲi.fi/ |
signifie /si.ɲi.fi/ |
signifions /si.ɲi.fjɔ̃/ |
signifiez /si.ɲi.fje/ |
signifient /si.ɲi.fi/ |
| imperfect | signifiais /si.ɲi.fjɛ/ |
signifiais /si.ɲi.fjɛ/ |
signifiait /si.ɲi.fjɛ/ |
signifiions /si.ɲi.fi.jɔ̃/ |
signifiiez /si.ɲi.fi.je/ |
signifiaient /si.ɲi.fjɛ/ |
|
| past historic1 | signifiai /si.ɲi.fje/ |
signifias /si.ɲi.fja/ |
signifia /si.ɲi.fja/ |
signifiâmes /si.ɲi.fjam/ |
signifiâtes /si.ɲi.fjat/ |
signifièrent /si.ɲi.fjɛʁ/ |
|
| future | signifierai /si.ɲi.fi.ʁe/ |
signifieras /si.ɲi.fi.ʁa/ |
signifiera /si.ɲi.fi.ʁa/ |
signifierons /si.ɲi.fi.ʁɔ̃/ |
signifierez /si.ɲi.fi.ʁe/ |
signifieront /si.ɲi.fi.ʁɔ̃/ |
|
| conditional | signifierais /si.ɲi.fi.ʁɛ/ |
signifierais /si.ɲi.fi.ʁɛ/ |
signifierait /si.ɲi.fi.ʁɛ/ |
signifierions /si.ɲi.fi.ʁjɔ̃/ |
signifieriez /si.ɲi.fi.ʁje/ |
signifieraient /si.ɲi.fi.ʁɛ/ |
|
| compound tenses |
present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior1 | Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il | que nous | que vous | qu’ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | signifie /si.ɲi.fi/ |
signifies /si.ɲi.fi/ |
signifie /si.ɲi.fi/ |
signifiions /si.ɲi.fi.jɔ̃/ |
signifiiez /si.ɲi.fi.je/ |
signifient /si.ɲi.fi/ |
| imperfect1 |
signifiasse /si.ɲi.fjas/ |
signifiasses /si.ɲi.fjas/ |
signifiât /si.ɲi.fja/ |
signifiassions /si.ɲi.fja.sjɔ̃/ |
signifiassiez /si.ɲi.fja.sje/ |
signifiassent /si.ɲi.fjas/ |
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| compound tenses |
past | Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect1 | Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nous | vous | – | |
| — | signifie /si.ɲi.fi/ |
— | signifions /si.ɲi.fjɔ̃/ |
signifiez /si.ɲi.fje/ |
— | ||
| 1literary tenses | |||||||