signifier

Word or image

A signifier is something that conveys meaning—a word, symbol, image, or sound that points to something else.

In linguistics and semiotics, the signifier is the form (the spoken or written word "tree") as distinct from what it represents (the actual tree or concept of one).

The term appears in academic and critical writing: The red light functions as a signifier of danger.

More loosely, signifier describes anything that indicates or represents: Expensive cars are signifiers of wealth.

semiotics

referent

What a term designates

symbolRepresentational mark or sign
denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
connotationImplied sense, not dictionary

arbitrariness · structuralism · semiology · index · icon · paradigm · langue · parole · code · meaning

symbol

emblem

Representational sign or device

iconPictorial screen symbol
glyphVisual form of character
logoCompany identifying symbol

badge · token · mark · cipher · monogram · sigil · seal · totem · crest · heraldry

representation

image

Visual or mental likeness

likenessVisual similarity or representation
symbolRepresentational mark or sign
tokenRepresentative placeholder

stand-in · proxy · substitute · placeholder · avatar · simulacrum · figure · cipher · mark · notation

indicator

marker

Something that signals location

pointerReference to memory location
cueTrigger for action
hintIndirect suggestion

token · index · beacon · flag · indicator · symptom · manifestation · clue · omen · harbinger

communication

expression

Conveyed thought or feeling

articulationClear vocal expression
utteranceSpoken expression aloud
wordLinguistic meaning unit

term · phrase · gesture · code · message · transmission · encoding · decoding · vocalization · inscription

signifier

referent

emblem

image

marker

expression

signifier

Opposites

Phrases

Categories

Family