What does significate mean?
Significate is a formal verb meaning to mean, indicate, or communicate something. It can describe how a word, gesture, object, or event carries a particular interpretation: for example, a symbol may signify peace, or a change in tone may signify disagreement. In contemporary use, the word is relatively uncommon and sounds literary or academic, so more familiar alternatives such as “mean,” “indicate,” “denote,” or “signify” are often preferable. Significate also has a philosophical role in discussions of language and meaning, where it refers to what a sign represents rather than the sign itself. Its vocabulary connections help clarify its character: “significant” concerns meaning or importance, while “signification” names the process or fact of meaning something. Overall, significate is a useful word for precise, formal discussion of meaning and interpretation.
To mean, denote, or indicate something; to communicate a particular meaning or significance.
"The color of the flag significated the country that had won the match."
Formal and literary; less common in ordinary conversation than “signify” or “mean.”
In philosophical and semiotic contexts, the meaning or concept expressed by a sign, as opposed to the sign itself.
"The signifier and the significate correspond to the expression and its underlying meaning."
Chiefly used in specialist discussions of semiotics, linguistics, and philosophy.
The plural is used in philosophical or semiotic contexts for distinct meanings or concepts.
"The theorist compared the signifiers with their corresponding significates."
Significate belongs to a family of words that connect signs with meaning, from the Latin signum, meaning “sign.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does significate come from?
The word comes from Latin significare, meaning “to mean” or “to make known by a sign.” That form was built from signum, “sign,” and facere, “to make,” reflecting the idea of making something known through a sign. English borrowed it in the 17th century, and it later developed broader senses involving meaning, indication, and significance.
Related word forms
How significate is actually used
Significate is formal and relatively uncommon in everyday speech. It is especially associated with literary, academic, or philosophical writing; “mean,” “indicate,” or “signify” will usually sound more natural in ordinary conversation.
Easily confused with significate
Signify is the more common everyday word for meaning or indicating something, while significate is a more formal or literary equivalent.