区别辨析mean、imply、indicate、represent、denote、signify与suggest

mean、imply、indicate、represent、denote、signify与suggest这些动词均含有“表示……的意思”之意。

mean : 最普通用词。指文字或符号等所表示的各种明确的或含蓄的意义。

  • What do you mean by that remark?
    你那话是什么意思?
  • She's kind of strange though. Do you know what I mean?
    可是她有点怪。你明白我指什么吗?

imply : 侧重用文字或符号表示的联想,暗示。

  • Are you implying (that) I'm fat?
    你是在暗示我长得胖吗?
  • I'm not implying anything about your cooking, but could we eat out tonight?
    我并不是暗示你做的饭不好吃,只是想提议我们今晚去外面吃,好吗?
  • I detected an implied criticism of the way he was treated.
    我觉察到他在含蓄地批评自己受到的待遇。

indicate : 指明显的表示。

  • Exploratory investigations have indicated large amounts of oil below the sea bed.
    勘测调查表明海床下有大量的石油。
  • Please indicate which free gift you would like to receive.
    请标出你想要哪种免费礼物。

represent : 指体现或代表。

  • This contract represents 20% of the company's annual revenue.
    这份合约相当于公司20%的年收入。
  • This decision represents a significant departure from previous policy.
    这个决定意味着在很大程度上脱离了原先的政策。

denote : 指某一词字面或狭义的意思,或指某些符号或迹象的特指含义。

  • The colour red is used to denote passion or danger.
    红色用于表示激情或危险。
  • signify : 指用文字、说话或表情等表示单纯的意思。
  • Nobody really knows what the marks on the ancient stones signify.
    没人真正知道那些古代石头上的记号代表什么含义。

suggest : 通常指暗含地、隐晦地表达意思。

  • Are you suggesting (that) I look fat in these trousers?
    你言下之意是说我穿这条裤子显得胖?
  • Something about his manner suggested a lack of interest in what we were doing.
    他的举止流露出的某种东西表明他对我们正在做的事情并无兴趣。