ADJ
- clear, unmistakable
- agreed, pre-arranged
- conflicting, confusing, contradictory, mixed
- wrong
- Laughing when you should be crying sends out the wrong signals to people
- alarm, danger, distress, warning
- hand, non-verbal, semaphore, smoke, verbal, visual
VERB + SIGNAL
- arrange
- He had arranged a signal for the band to begin
- give (sb), make, send (out)
- When I give the signal, run!
- interpret (sth as), read, see sth as
- The remark was seen as a signal that their government was ready to return to the peace talks
- pick up, respond to
- Interviewers quickly learn to pick up non-verbal signals
- act as
- The insect's bright colours act as warning signals to its predators
SIGNAL + VERB
- come from sth
- trying to read the signals coming from the patient
- indicate sth
- the signals that can indicate danger
PREP
- at/on a ~
- At a pre-arranged signal, everyone started cheering
- ~ for
- She made a signal for the car to stop
- ~ from/to
- Wait for the signal from the leader of your group
SIGNAL + VERB
- be (on) red/green
- The traffic signals were on red
- fail
ADJ
- faint, weak
- strong
- high-frequency, low-frequency
- acoustic, analogue, audio, chemical, digital, electrical, electronic, light, radar, radio, sonar, sound, television/TV, video, wireless
VERB + SIGNAL
- carry, pass
- The nerves carry these signals to the brain
- convert (sth into), scramble, unscramble
- The signal is scrambled into code before it is sent
- emit, generate, send, transmit
- detect, pick up, receive, respond to
- This equipment can detect very low frequency signals
SIGNAL + VERB
- travel
- A light signal can travel well over 16km before it halves in intensity
- fade
PREP
- ~ from
- a faint signal from the satellite
- ~ to
ADV
- frantically, wildly
- She signalled frantically to us
PREP
- for
- He raised his hand and signalled for the waiter
- to
- She signalled to the bus driver to stop
ADV
- clearly
- These changes clearly signal the end of the welfare state as we know it
- effectively
- not necessarily
- A change of mind in one instance does not necessarily signal a change in overall policy