countersignal

English

Etymology

From counter- +‎ signal.

Noun

countersignal (plural countersignals)

1. A signal produced in response to another signal.

Verb

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

• countersignaling on Wikipedia.Wikipedia