countersignal

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

counter- +‎ signal

Noun[edit]

countersignal (plural countersignals)

  1. A signal produced in response to another signal.

Verb[edit]

countersignal (third-person singular simple present countersignals, present participle (UK) countersignalling or (US) countersignaling, simple past and past participle (UK) countersignalled or (US) countersignaled)

  1. (sociology) To send a false or misleading signal.
    • 2012, New York Magazine's Most Popular:
      But of course, Silicon Valley is a mecca of counter-signaling—witness the superstatus Zuckerbergian hoodie—and it's no surprise to discover that in the land of the billionaire dropout, an Internet entrepreneur like Thiel sees evidence that higher education inhibits innovation.
    • 2022, W. David Marx, chapter 5, in Status and Culture, Viking, →ISBN:
      Just as the logic of signaling attracts New Money to luxury, countersignaling directs the Old Money sensibility toward modesty.

Further reading[edit]