signifier

IPA: sˈɪgnʌfaɪɝ

Something or someone that signifies, makes something more significant or important.
(cartomancy) A card representing a querent, question, or situation.
(linguistics, philosophy) A sign, such as a written or spoken word, which refers to some concept, object or person, the signified.

Examples of "signifier" in Sentences

The signifier is the word itself, its sound and the actual sequence of its letters.
If we presume the signifier is the signified we fall into the trap of logocentrism.
The ideas behind the words, the signified beyond the signifier, is what really matters.
This country's chief signifier is our staggering capacity to isolate ourselves from the effects of our political and lifestyle choices.
A social signifier is one that is either created or interpreted by people or society, signifying social activity or appropriate social behavior.
The fallacious translation of trope into signifier is symptomatically reiterated later in the chapter in the form of an atypical terminological mistake.
Return of the MacGuffin: Iran and Nuclear Weapons (K-punk) “A MacGuffin (sometimes spelt McGuffin or Magoffin), an empty master-signifier, is a now-ubiquitous plot device or catalyst that holds no meaning or purpose of its own except to motivate the players or characters and advance a narrative or story.”