Which to use
“signified” is a noun and “signifies” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,222
- “signified” frequency rank
- #19,971
- “signifies” frequency rank
- 57193
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | signified | signifies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The concept, object or person that is referred to by a sign or signifier. | third-person singular simple present indicative of signify |
Letter map: signified vs signifies
Shared letters muted; letters that set signified and signifies apart highlighted. Shared run: 8. signified and signifies follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Grammar separator: signified vs signifies
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: signified is anoun and signifiesaverb. On the page they differ by a single letter - d in “signified” becomes s in “signifies”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
signified is recorded at frequency rank #37,222, classified as anoun. signifies is at rank #19,971, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsɪɡnɪfaɪz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 57193, this pair ranks #120,974 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of signified vs signifies
Shared letters: efgins. Private to "signified": d. Private to "signifies": -.
"signified" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "signifies" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "signified" and "signifies" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "signified" vs "signifies" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "signified" vs "signifies" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "signified" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "signifies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #120,974 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #120,974 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.