Meaningé

Meaningé is a term used in contemporary discussions of meaning production to describe the intentional, context-sensitive process by which individuals and groups construct significance from signs, symbols, and communicative acts. The term emphasizes agency in interpretation and the social nature of meaning.

The etymology is debated; the word appears as a blend of "meaning" with a stylistic suffix suggesting action or result, and it has circulated mainly in online discourse and some marginal academic writings since the early 2020s. It is not universally recognized as a formal concept in established linguistics, but it serves as a shorthand in discussions about how audiences actively shape meaning rather than passively receive it.

Core ideas associated with meaningé include the interactive nature of signs, the role of context and prior knowledge, and the power dynamics involved in controlling interpretation. Proponents argue that meaningé highlights that meaning is co-constructed by communicators and audiences, a particularly salient point in digital media where memes, captions, and algorithms influence interpretation.

Critics contend that the term can be vague or overly broad, offering limited methodological guidance. Despite this, meaningé has been used to analyze phenomena such as branding campaigns, political messaging, and user-generated content where intended meanings are contested or reframed in audience practice.

Related concepts include semiotics, hermeneutics, discourse analysis, and constructivist theories of knowledge. See also meaning, interpretation, sign, and context.