meaning

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Significance

Nouns

1. meaning, significance, signification, force; sense, expression; import, purport, implication, drift, tenor, spirit, bearing; scope, purpose, aim, intent, intention, object, thrust; allusion, suggestion, synonym; interpretation, connotation, subtext, spin; supertitle. Informal, take. See importance.

2. matter, subject [matter], argument, text, sum and substance, gist, pith, kernel, meat.

Verbs

1. mean, signify, stand for, denote, express, import, purpose, convey, imply, connote, infer, indicate, tell or speak of; touch on; point or allude to, drive at, have in mind, put across, intend, aim at, declare; understand by, interpret (see interpretation).

2. have meaning, make sense, hang together. Informal, add up.

Adjectives — meaning, meaningful, expressive, suggestive, articulate, allusive, significant, eloquent, pithy, full of or pregnant with meaning; declaratory, intelligible, literal; synonymous, tantamount, equivalent; explicit, express, implied, implicit.

Adverbs — meaningly, significantly, etc.; to that effect, that is to say, to all intents and purposes; word for word.

Quotations — The meaning doesn't matter if it's only idle chatter of a transcendental kind (W. S. Gilbert), No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous (Henry Adams), Everything has its hidden meaning which we must know (Maxim Gorky).

Antonyms, see unmeaningness.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. sense, denotation, import, purport, purpose, definition, object, implication, application, intent, suggestion, connotation, symbolization, aim, drift, significance, essence, worth, intrinsic value, interest.

Ant. nonsense*, aimlessness, absurdity.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

intent, intention, purport, signification, denotation, sense, definition, connotation, drift, suggestion, point, thrust, interpretation, essence, content.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. That which is signified by a word or expression: acceptation, connotation, denotation, import, intent, message, purport, sense, significance, sigmficancy, signification, value. See MEANING. 2. The thread or current of thought uniting or occurring in all the elements of a text or discourse: aim, burden2, drift, intent, purport, substance, tendency, tenor, thrust. See MEANING. 3. What one intends to do or achieve: aim, ambition, design, end, goal, intent, intention, mark, object, objective, point, purpose, target, view, why. Idioms: end in view, why and wherefore. See PLANNED, PURPOSE. 4. The gist of a specific action or situation: idea, import, point, purport, significance, significancy. See MEANING. II adjective Effectively conveying meaning, feeling, or mood: eloquent, expressive, meaningful, significant. See EXPRESS, SHOW.