Indicating

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɪndɪkeɪtɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Showing or signifying something through signs or cues
2. Suggesting a specific idea or direction through verbal or non-verbal means
3. Pointing out or making something clear by using signals, gestures, or expressions

Etymology: "Indicating" is the present participle of "indicate," which English borrowed from the Latin "indicātus," the past participle of "indicō," meaning "to point out." The Latin verb combined "in-" ("in" or "to") with "dicō," which originally meant "to point" before it came to mean "to declare" or "to say." That older sense of pointing survives in the word's core meaning, since to indicate something is still to point toward it, whether with a finger, a gauge, or a signpost. The same root, "dicō," sits behind several familiar English words that look quite different on the surface. "Index" comes from the Latin "index," a derivative of the same verb, and originally named the pointing finger, while "diction" and "dictate" descend from its sense of saying or declaring. Seeing "indicate" alongside them shows how a single gesture of pointing gave English words for lists, for speech, and for signs.

Synonyms: signaling, pointing, showing, denoting, revealing

Antonyms: concealing, hiding, obscuring, suppressing, withholding