significantly

American  

[sig-nif-i-kuhnt-lee] / sɪgˈnɪf ɪ kənt li /

adverb

1. in a way or as a fact that is important and deserves attention.

   Significantly, Australia was a nation born in peacetime, not war.

2. by a relatively great amount or to a relatively high degree.

   She seems to have grown significantly as a character—her decisions are more mature, for one thing.

3. in a way that carries special, secret, or private meaning.

   The detective looked significantly at the collection of pills on the table, but said nothing.

4. Statistics. in a way or to a degree that is unlikely to occur by chance and therefore indicates a systematic cause.

   These results show that sleep significantly affects memory organization, even in the infant brain.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsignificantly
  adverb
• supersignificantly
  adverb
• unsignificantly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of significantly

significant ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

Anything that happens significantly happens in a big way. A significantly happier person has gotten much happier. Moving into a significantly bigger house means you can finally get that indoor pony. Significant things are important. When you see the word significantly, you know something is a big deal. A significantly higher tax rate would upset many people, because taxes went up a lot. A significantly lower-than-usual snowfall would upset skiers, because no one likes skiing on dry ground. A significantly timed speech happens at a time that is meaningful for some reason, like on a major holiday. This word often means the same as importantly.

Example Sentences

“If we only get the $68 million, it significantly puts at risk sustained funding for these projects,” said Kelsey Hinton, policy director for the nonprofit Community Water Center.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

While growth is unlikely to match the extraordinary pace of the past decade, expectations have already come down significantly.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

"Strikingly, when this receptor was removed from the mice, the development of arterial plaques dropped significantly in some areas and disruptions to the gut microbiome were minimized."

From Science Daily • Jun. 9, 2026

In May, reports of both actual and planned price increases rose significantly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Equally significantly he found that the process was reversible.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

• actually
• approximately
• necessarily
• originally
• permanently
• quite
• really
• substantially
• truly
• typically
• virtually