VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

signatory

noun·Academicformal

Last updated

UK/ˈsɪɡnətri/
US/ˈsɪɡnətɔːri/

Meanings

  1. nouncountableformallegal

    A person or organization that has put their name to a contract, treaty or other official document.

    Grammar: Often followed by to: a signatory to the contract.

    Patterns

    • a signatory to something
    • a signatory of something

    Each signatory to the lease received a copy.

    The company was a signatory to the contract.

    Only three signatories were present at the ceremony.

  2. nouncountableformal

    A country that has formally agreed to an international treaty by signing it.

    Grammar: Used with of or to: a signatory of the treaty.

    Patterns

    • signatories to a treaty
    • a signatory of the agreement

    More than a hundred nations are signatories to the climate agreement.

    Every signatory must report its emissions each year.

    The treaty only binds its signatories.

Word forms

pluralsignatories

Common combinations

signatory to
She is a signatory to the loan agreement.
signatory of
Spain is a signatory of the convention.
original signatory
He was an original signatory to the founding charter.
authorized signatory
An authorized signatory must approve the payment.
signatory countries
Signatory countries agreed to limit fishing.

Synonyms and how they differ

signer
Signer is a simple everyday word for the person signing, while signatory is formal and typical of legal texts.
party
Party refers to a side in an agreement, whether or not it has actually signed.
subscriber
Subscriber is an older word for someone who signs, and usually means someone who pledges money or support.
cosigner
Cosigner means someone who shares responsibility for a debt and is much narrower.

Opposites

non-signatory

Word family

sign verb
to write your name on a document
signature noun
your name written in your own handwriting
signed adjective
having a signature on it
cosignatory noun
one of several people who sign together
signing noun
the act of signing a document

Commonly confused: signatory or signature? signatory or signator?

signatory vs signature

A signature is the name itself, while a signatory is the person or country that signs.

signatory vs signator

Signator is a rare variant of signatory and is not usually recommended.

Practice

Any country that is a ___ to the treaty must follow its rules.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “signatory”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words