mindmap root((意义)) meaning is the general term used of anything, such as a word, sign, poem, or action, requiring or allowing of interpretation: the poem's ~ has been fiercely debated. sense denotes the meaning or a particular meaning of a word or phrase: used "nighthawk" in its figurative ~. 夜鹰，夜生活者 acceptation is used of a sense of a word or phrase as regularly understood by most people: the writer isn't using "sane" in its common ~. signification denotes the established meaning of a term, symbol, or character: any Christian would immediately know the ~ of "INRI". significance applies to a covert as distinguished from the ostensible meaning of an utterance, act, or work of art: an agreement that seemed to have little ~ at the time. import suggests momentousness and denotes the meaning or impression a speaker conveyed through language: failed at first to appreciate the ~ of the news.