indicate
Formsindicates, indicating, indicated
- 1To point something out or make it known to others, showing where something is or what is the case.
The report indicates a steady rise in costs over the year.
Please indicate your choice by checking one of the boxes.
Note
Pointing is the oldest thing in this word. Latin indicō joined in- 'to' with dicō, which meant 'to point' before it meant 'to declare'; index and diction belong to the same family. The verb still does both jobs. It can take a plain object, as when someone indicates the waterfront with a turn of the shoulder, or a that-clause, as when findings indicate that something is likely.
- 2To use a vehicle's turn signals to show whether you intend to turn left or right.
He indicated a left turn and slowed down at the junction.
Drivers must indicate their intentions well before the roundabout.
Similarsignal
- 3To reveal the presence of a disease or condition through observable symptoms.
Chest pain combined with breathlessness can indicate a heart problem.
The patient's elevated white cell count indicated an underlying infection.
Similarsuggest, signal, reveal, signify
Note
In clinical language the subject is the evidence and the object is the diagnosis: a fever, a rash or a raised white cell count indicates an infection. The verb claims less than prove or confirm do. It says that a finding points toward a condition. Keep it apart from the sense about remedies, where the condition becomes the subject and what it points to is a treatment.
- 4To point to a particular treatment or remedy as the appropriate one for a patient's condition.
The lab findings indicate aggressive chemotherapy.
A ruptured appendix indicates emergency surgery.
Similarwarrant, necessitate, require
Oppositecontraindicate
Note
Medicine often uses this sense in the passive. A drug, a procedure or even well-made shoes are 'medically indicated' when a condition calls for them. The active form puts the condition first, so a ruptured appendix indicates surgery. The opposite is contraindicated, which is said of a treatment that the condition rules out.
- 5To measure the working condition or power output of an engine, especially a steam engine, using an instrument called an indicator.
The mechanic indicated the engine to record its pressure cycle.
Before overhauling the locomotive, technicians indicate each cylinder in turn.
Note
An engineer's verb from the age of steam. To indicate an engine was to fit it with an indicator and read what its cylinders were doing. The object is the engine itself, not the reading, as in The Star Improved Steam Engine Indicator (1903) on 'how an engine should be indicated'. By 1905 Central Station could say that the day had passed when only an expert could indicate an engine.
Practice
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Origin
Borrowed from Latin indicātus, the past participle of indicō ('to point out, indicate'), formed from in- ('in, to') plus dicō ('to declare', originally 'to point'). It is related to 'diction' and 'index'.