meaningful
Americanadjective
adjective
-
having great meaning or validity
-
eloquent, expressive
a meaningful silence
Usage
What are other ways to say meaningful? Something that is meaningful, such as a meaningful wink or meaningful choice, is full of meaning, purpose, or value. Do you know how meaningful differs from the synonyms expressive, significant, and suggestive? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of meaningful
Explanation
Use the adjective meaningful to describe something that has a purpose, like a political rally for a cause you believe in strongly. You would probably say that your backpacking trip across Asia was meaningful, or worthwhile, but you might not describe three hours watching bad TV shows as meaningful. When something is important or significant, it is meaningful, or "full of meaning." Meaning itself comes from the word mean, which has its roots in the Old English mænan, "to signify, tell, or complain."
Vocabulary lists containing meaningful
Power Suffix: -ful
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Very Necessary: Synonyms for "Important"
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-ful
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Its Japanese meaning is closer to the state of a river rock that has been washed over and tumbled thousands of times, so that it’s both distinct, and a meaningful part of its environment.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
Each experiment required a similar amount of time before meaningful conclusions could be drawn and the next stage of research could begin.
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
Lilly also revealed that its next-generation obesity drug retatrutide showed meaningful improvements in knee osteoarthritis pain and sleep apnea as well as substantial weight loss, in Phase 3 trials.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
“This dynamic supports stronger-for-longer earnings, suggesting still meaningful upside to consensus margins/estimates for the forseeable future,” Muse said in a Monday note.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
Anthony didn’t oppose marriage, but she did think that certain women could lead more meaningful lives as unmarried radicals than as wives and mothers.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
