Definition of indicate in English:

indicate

verb

[with object]

1Point out; show.
‘dotted lines indicate the text's margins’
- ‘Census figures released Friday indicate Indiana County's population has stayed virtually static at 89,605 residents.’
- ‘Figures indicate the EU expects Ireland to resume its position as the Union's fastest-growing economy.’
- ‘Figures released indicate a 2% increase in unemployment in the south east.’
- ‘But child mortality figures indicate many more private tragedies.’
- ‘Other solutions used are indicated in the figure legends.’
- ‘The sequences for the primers used are indicated by arrows in Figure 1.’
- ‘All the experimental treatments and reproductive nodes that were harvested are indicated on the main figure.’
- ‘Don't you agree these figures indicate the significant economic impact of the arts?’
- ‘Deviations from the concentrations listed there are indicated in the text.’
- ‘Although the days of king coal and the smoky cities are long gone, census figures indicate manufacturing plays a significant role in the regional economy.’
- ‘The boxed text indicates the numbering and color-coding scheme.’
- ‘The other reality, though, is that the figures indicate that 6673 women with Irish addresses had abortions in Britain last year.’
- ‘But figures indicate that it wreaked far greater damage on Russia's economy than the Nazi invasion and World War II.’
- ‘In the archdiocese, the latest figures indicate there are 901 priests.’
- ‘The figures indicate that the tabloid version has proved a hit with readers as it accounts for some 70% of all sales.’
- ‘Figures indicate that landlords have been increasing rents in response to rent allowance limits set by health boards.’
- ‘The situation might be even worse than the figures indicate, the Commerce Ministry official said.’
- ‘To say that these figures indicate that the upward spiral of crime has halted is incorrect.’
- ‘About six miles past the restaurant, we almost missed a partially hidden sign indicating Qalat Salah al-Din (Saladin's Castle).’
- ‘Note that they do this in spite of the presence of signs indicating many of these doors are ‘designated no-smoking entrances.’’
designate, specify, stipulate
View synonyms
1. 1.1Be a sign of; strongly suggest.
  ‘sales indicate a growing market for such art’
  with clause ‘his tone indicated that he didn't hold out much hope’
  ‘Nevertheless, he acknowledged the ‘market rebound’ as indicating a ‘growing’ consumer confidence here.’
  ‘I read the piece twice and tried to see the any sign that indicates such a victory for the insurgents but I failed in both trials.’
  ‘One source close to the meeting said the deal hasn't been signed yet and indicated a few more hurdles had to be overcome before there would be any white smoke.’
  ‘Unless planets are afflicted in Leo, the sign usually indicates strong vitality and a healthy constitution.’
  ‘The somewhat watered down language of the resolutions is hardly threatening to Sudan, and doesn't indicate a strong political will to me.’
  ‘Every child who joins must sign a pledge indicating his or her intention to become better.’
  ‘His suave tone failed to indicate anything was wrong.’
  ‘While I am not an expert on the property market, the above signs seem to indicate that returns on property going forward will, in general, be modest.’
  ‘Market signs indicate this trend will continue to be important in the future.’
  ‘These sales indicate that demand is strong for the smaller lot sizes of between 2.5 and ten acres but question the demand for larger industrial sites.’
  ‘Polynesian Megapodes appear to be monogamous, as indicated by their strong site- and partner-fidelity for extended periods.’
  ‘Sora's voice was starting to grow sore, indicated by its sudden raspy inflection.’
  ‘He pointed out that a recent Mori poll had indicated a strong future demand for the bank's core products.’
  ‘Responses to these items indicate a strong enabling attitude in which the parent was taking a direct action.’
  ‘The lower slope could indicate a stronger actomyosin bond in the slower muscle.’
  ‘Evidence came to light indicating that the train drivers involved took all possible actions to reduce the serious nature of the accident.’
  ‘My eyes opened to find an exhausted James leaning over me, and the amount of sunlight streaming into the car indicated that it was well past dawn.’
  ‘The proximity to Spinner Lane may indicate that some of the cottages could have housed spinsters.’
  ‘Stress signals indicated that he needed to create a more balanced life, to keep divorce and a heart attack at bay.’
  ‘The turn out figures indicate something like 30-35 percent.’
  demonstrate, show, point to, be a sign of, be evidence of, evidence, testify to, bear witness to, be a symptom of, be symptomatic of, denote, connote, mark, signal, signify, suggest, imply
  View synonyms
2. 1.2Mention indirectly or briefly.
  ‘the president indicated his willingness to use force against the rebels’
  ‘The background, which I certainly was not aware of, has been indicated to me briefly.’
  ‘She briefly indicates the conflicting written evidence that an historian investigating this incident must consider.’
  ‘In the first two articles in this series I have briefly indicated some of the main currents of Nietzsche's thought.’
  ‘And there may be, as indicated by the president this morning, the possibility of additional troops.’
  ‘During the assessment phase, stakeholders who were surveyed indicated their willingness to form the national coalition.’
  ‘The timing of the announcement clearly indicated other concerns than simply improving relations with Iraq.’
  ‘And as I mentioned, the pilot indicated that there was some sort of a mechanical problem.’
  ‘There follow fourteen chapters and a conclusion, the contents of which I will briefly indicate later.’
  ‘I mention this only to indicate I still have one toe clinging to current pop culture.’
  ‘The second phase eliminated all records that indicated a ‘missing value’ for the total amount borrowed variable.’
  ‘May I indicate very briefly what the position was.’
  ‘Let me briefly indicate why I do not find this standpoint natural.’
  ‘May I just indicate briefly the background which is referred to in that affidavit.’
  ‘Salaried physicians indicated a greater willingness to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors.’
  ‘I've indicated to the President of the Senate in correspondence that my confidence in the Clerk is fast diminishing.’
  ‘And even the President indicated that he wasn't that keen.’
  ‘Since the union representing taxi drivers has indicated they would respect picket lines, a walkout would effectively shut down taxi service to the entire city.’
  ‘Sources close to the bus drivers have indicated that they could hold a series of one-day strikes if their demands are not met.’
  ‘Only if a 70-year-old driver indicated on their application form they had a problem with their health would they be required to take a medical exam.’
  ‘Store owners who were surveyed indicated their sales rose by 38 percent, worth $10 million per year.’
  state, declare, make known, make it known, announce, communicate, mention, say, reveal, divulge, disclose, register, record, put it on record
  View synonyms
3. 1.3Direct attention to (someone or something) by means of a gesture.
  ‘he indicated Cindy with a brief nod of the head’
  ‘A good director would have cut some of the annoyingly repetitive and obvious gestures used to indicate character.’
  ‘You make some gestures to indicate you've lost your handle for a moment; you turn away and get your grip.’
  ‘They will signal a passerby in with gestures indicating the offer of a cup of tea or something to eat.’
  ‘And I don't know of any other handshape-based gestures indicating academic allegiance.’
  ‘Take a look around,’ he said with a gesture indicating the enclosed room, ‘No one else.’’
  ‘She swept her arm out in a grand gesture, indicating the land about them.’
  ‘Another gesture indicated a line on his rough map.’
  ‘The gesture indicated formal speech and authority and appears in pictorial representation of situations involving preaching, prophecy and command.’
  ‘With a more confident gesture, she indicated the bulletin board where they posted the listing and they moved toward it.’
  ‘With a sweeping gesture, he indicated the entire sheet of grey, fuzzy static.’
  ‘These cadences were indicated by conventional gestures of the hand and fingers.’
  ‘She gave an all-encompassing gesture to indicate her surroundings.’
  ‘Lee had gestured to indicate the kitchen and the rest of the house.’
  ‘Hand gestures to indicate the sighting of a hammerhead or a basking shark can easily be misunderstood if they are improvised at the last moment!’
  ‘From the moment that Schlag and trumps have been announced, players can use signals to indicate to their partner what cards they hold.’
  ‘West Yorkshire police officers had given chase after a Nissan Terrano they thought was towing a faulty trailer failed to pull over when they indicated to the driver.’
  ‘He indicated a colossal towering figure, easily thirteen foot high, meandering towards us along the wide roads.’
  point to, point out, gesture towards
  View synonyms
4. 1.4(of a gauge or meter) register a reading of (a quantity, dimension, etc.)
  ‘an external tube is used to indicate fluid level’
  ‘Again the camera meter will indicate a shutter speed and an aperture to give you an 18% grey object.’
  ‘Estimates from tide gauges indicate that sea level has changed at the rate of 1.8 to 2.4 mm/yr over the last century.’
  ‘The junction box has two meters indicating the voltage and load capacity readings.’
  ‘The activity LED will blink twice which indicates Speed Boost is enabled.’
  ‘Start timing the process when the dial gauge indicates that the recommended pressure has been reached, or when the weighted gauge begins to jiggle or rock.’
  ‘Wouldn't a conscientious journalist blush to use the word success when the best available gauge indicates failure?’
  ‘LCD ‘hands’ point to stamped numbers along the perimeter of the computer's face indicating current speed, average speed and maximum speed.’
  ‘The winner was the lady who told the saddest life story as indicated by a sound meter measuring the volume of the audience's applause for each contestant.’
  ‘If the meter indicates poor air/fuel ratio at idle, correct it by adjusting the idle-mixture screws.’
  ‘Projected display for portable sensor indicating the location of a detected hidden object behind a surface’
  ‘A ‘suspicion’ meter indicates the likelihood of your discovery and forces you to keep moving, keep your distance from guards and whatnot.’
  ‘Although the fuel gauge indicated a safe fuel state, the low-fuel light flickered.’
  ‘The fuel gauges indicated between 180 and 190 pounds per side as we cleared the active runway.’
  ‘Simple depth gauges measuring the maximum depths indicate some remarkably deep dives attained by shearwaters.’
  ‘The fuel gauge indicated that the hovercar's tank was still half-full so that made it even more likely that it had crashed, rendering the boy unconscious.’
  ‘The OAT gauge indicated we were at or slightly below freezing.’
  ‘It could also be caused by the fact that the actual pressure at the nozzle is less than that indicated by the pressure gauge.’
  ‘An LED display between the speedometer and tachometer indicates which gear the driver has chosen.’
  indicate, register, record, display, show, have as a reading, measure
  View synonyms
2Suggest as a desirable or necessary course of action.
‘treatment for shock may be indicated’
- ‘An appropriate physical examination and necessary medically indicated investigation are clearly essential.’
- ‘Insulin therapy also is indicated in patients with contraindications to antidiabetic medications.’
- ‘The other part of the schedule lists immunizations indicated and contraindicated by medical conditions.’
- ‘Further examination using colonoscopy may be indicated in individual patients.’
- ‘In some cases, complementary examinations such as bronchography, bronchoscopy, and cardiac catheterization may be indicated.’
- ‘Occasionally, when confronted with unusual symptoms or signs that are refractory to standard therapy, referral may be indicated.’
- ‘On the other hand, if systemic inflammation is responsible, then antiinflammatory therapy may be indicated.’
- ‘Preterm delivery may be indicated because of deterioration of maternal or fetal health, and obstetric complications may occur.’
- ‘If the memory loss is severe enough to warrant a diagnosis of dementia, then cholinesterase inhibitor therapy would be indicated.’
- ‘Skin scraping, biopsy, or culture may be indicated if skin lesions are present.’
- ‘Additional blood tests may be indicated in patients with more severe injuries.’
- ‘For example, a detailed physical examination may be indicated in some cases.’
- ‘Lamotrigine has been available since 1994 and is indicated as adjunctive therapy for partial seizures in adults and children.’
- ‘If a wound becomes infected, oral or intravenous antibiotics might be indicated and should be chosen based on bacterial cultures.’
- ‘If monitoring of the middle cerebral artery indicates anaemia, fetal blood sampling and intrauterine transfusion are indicated.’
- ‘When an uncomplicated nasal fracture is suspected, plain radiography rarely is indicated.’
- ‘In patients with pulmonary hypertension, more frequent chest radiographs to assess catheter position may be indicated.’
advisable, desirable, recommended, suggested, desired, preferable, best, sensible, wise, commonsensical, prudent
View synonyms
3British no object (of a driver or motor vehicle) signal an intention to change lanes or turn using an indicator.
‘Cal indicated and moved across the road’
‘one car had indicated left but pulled out in front of him’
- ‘So don't get mad when a driver does not indicate to go to the left lane; remember that he or she just might not be expert enough to disregard the Highway Code.’
- ‘Moments before the crash, a retired PC watched a blue car indicate then pull out ahead and overtake a horse box.’
- ‘If that driver was indicating properly, which I see no reason to assume he wasn't, then the motorcyclist should never have attempted to overtake.’
- ‘To all the drivers behind, indicating to change lanes still means ‘accelerate to close the gap’.’
- ‘A little red Volkswagen had situated itself to drive behind them, but the driver was mindless, having a blinking light on his car indicating he was turning left.’
- ‘Cars indicating to their left from the Dungarvan direction could as easily be going straight on past the junction through the slow lane, he said.’
- ‘Always indicate when changing lanes.’
- ‘She then indicated to pull over to the side, stopped momentarily, but then drove on.’
- ‘Sometimes they will indicate before moving, sometimes as they are moving and sometimes not at all.’
- ‘Quite a few drivers indicate left after leaving, and are already proceeding down the street.’