These words refer to the agreed-upon ideas or things that words or signs stand for. Mean is the least formal and the most general in embracing every kind of import a sign may have, whether explicit or implicit.

• A red traffic light means stop and a green light means go; What do these symptoms mean ?; You will have to state exactly what these terms mean ; Does his frequent cursing mean he is capable of violence?

Suggest , by contrast, concentrates specifically on covert or implicit qualities or associations in signs or language: He claims to mean one thing, but his choice of words suggests quite another.

Indicate stresses a rough approximation of literal meaning, whereas imply stresses the unstated associative or peripheral overtones present in a sign or word: a flashing red light to indicate that a stretch of road was undergoing repairs; a choice of imagery that implied a fear or contempt of women, whether unintentional or conscious. Imply , when compared with suggest, stresses subtlety or complexity of association; suggest stresses tentative alternatives in meaning or a permissible variety of interpretations: mystery plots that imply anyone could be guilty of the crime in order to suggest to the unwary reader a bewildering array of false leads.

Denote specifically refers to what a term strictly or literally means, while connote refers to all the possible associations that are implied or suggested by a term.

• Scientists are interested in stripping language down to what it can exactly denote , while psychologists, poets and literary critics are interested in all the hidden or penumbral associations words connote ; Bright denotes intense light, but in certain contexts it can also meaning to imply than suggest , but it is more formal and technical than either and is best reserved for linguistic or epistemological discussion.

Signify and symbolize stand in roughly the same relation as denote and connote , with signify suggesting a simple, literal meaning and symbolize suggesting a rich cluster of abstract concepts that are invested in a word, gesture or object.

• The legend of a map tells what each sign and abbreviation signifies ; The cross to the Christian and the mandala to the Buddhist symbolize a body of doctrines and beliefs that might require volumes to spell out in explicit detail.

Symbolize is different from imply , suggest and connote in stressing a deliberate compression of complex ideas into a concrete token that stands for them. Signify , like mean , can be used in a more general way to emphasize any aspect of conveyed understanding; sometimes the word is used especially to refer to the deepest import of an expression rather than to its more obvious or superficial aspects: analysis that gives not only the who, what, when and where of the news, but also what these bare bones signify .