master signifier

Noun

master signifier (plural master signifiers)

1. A signifier, i.e. a linguistic sign, with no determinate content beyond itself, serving as a nodal point dominating and grounding the content of a chain of other signifiers.
   • The same reversal that gives rise to a new Master-Signifier is at work in ideology: in anti-Semitism, all fears (of economic crisis, of moral degradation …) are exchanged for fear of the Jew […] And is not the same logic also discernible in a horror film like Spielberg’s Jaws? I fear the shark, my...2006, Slavoj Žižek, The Parallax View, →ISBN, page 37
   • It is the broader umbrella concept of cultural re-birth that acts as a master signifier suturing the vast spectrum of Islamism, from its peaceful articulations to its more violent manifestations.2021, Tahir Abbas, Countering Violent Extremism: The International Deradicalization Agenda, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   empty signifier, floating signifier