— meaningly , adv. — meaningness , n.
/mee"ning/ , n.
1. what is intended to be, or actually is, expressed or indicated; signification; import: the three meanings of a word.
2. the end, purpose, or significance of something: What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of this intrusion?
3. Ling.
a. the nonlinguistic cultural correlate, reference, or denotation of a linguistic form; expression.
b. linguistic content (opposed to expression ).
adj.
4. intentioned (usually used in combination): She's a well-meaning person.
5. full of significance; expressive: a meaning look.
[ 1250-1300; ME (n.); see MEAN 1 , -ING 1 , -ING 2 ]
Syn. 1. tenor, gist, drift, trend. MEANING, PURPORT, SENSE, SIGNIFICANCE denote that which is expressed or indicated by something. MEANING is the general word denoting that which is intended to be or actually is expressed or indicated: the meaning of a word or glance. SENSE may be used to denote a particular meaning (among others) of a word or phrase: The word is frequently used in this sense. SENSE may also be used loosely to refer to intelligible meaning: There's no sense in what he says.
SIGNIFICANCE refers particularly to a meaning that is implied rather than expressed: the significance of her glance; or to a meaning the importance of which may not be easy to perceive immediately: The real significance of his words was not grasped at the time. PURPORT is mainly limited to the meaning of a formal document, speech, important conversation, etc., and refers to the gist of something fairly complicated: the purport of your letter to the editor.