signifier
French, verb/si.ɲi.fje/
signifier is spelled S-I-G-N-I-F-I-E-R (9 letters) and appears 5.6 times per million words in written French, the 10,294th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Signifier is a French verb meaning “to signify, mean” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Indiquer, marquer quelque chose, avoir comme sens”.
What does signifier mean in English?
verb
- 1
to signify, mean
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Indiquer, marquer quelque chose, avoir comme sens. 2. Exprimer ce qu’on entend par un mot, par une locution, par une phrase, en parlant de langue et de grammaire. 3. Notifier, déclarer, faire connaître quelque chose par des signes évidents, des paroles expresses. 4. Notifier par voie de justice, par ministère d’huissier.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of signifier
- avoir + past participle infinitive multiword-construction
- signifiant gerund participle present
- ayant + past participle gerund multiword-construction participle
- signifié participle past
- signifie first-person indicative present
- signifies indicative present second-person
- signifions first-person indicative plural
- signifiez indicative plural present
- signifient indicative plural present
- signifiais first-person imperfect indicative
- signifiait imperfect indicative singular
- signifiions first-person imperfect indicative
- signifiiez imperfect indicative plural
- signifiaient imperfect indicative plural
- signifiai first-person historic indicative
- signifias historic indicative past
- signifia historic indicative past
- signifiâmes first-person historic indicative
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce signifier?
- /si.ɲi.fje/
- /si.ni.fje/
- \si.ɲi.fje\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to signifier
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is signifier in French?
signifier appears 5.6 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).