insignificant
Americanadjective
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unimportant, trifling, or petty.
Omit the insignificant details.
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too small to be important.
an insignificant sum.
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of no consequence, influence, or distinction.
a minor, insignificant bureaucrat.
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without weight of character; contemptible.
an insignificant fellow.
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without meaning; meaningless.
insignificant sounds.
noun
adjective
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having little or no importance; trifling
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almost or relatively meaningless
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small or inadequate
an insignificant wage
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not distinctive in character, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of insignificant
First recorded in 1620–30; in- 3 + significant
Explanation
When something is insignificant, it doesn't matter. The fact that your mom gets to school a half hour late becomes insignificant when she announces you're stopping for ice cream on the way home. The word signify, which is at the heart of insignificant, means "to mean." Significant means "meaningful." Add in- "not," and you have "not meaningful." A company can fire a worker from an insignificant job and still function. In a crisis, your feelings are insignificant; it is your actions that matter.
Vocabulary lists containing insignificant
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The Alchemist
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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.
But the reality is: Insignificant events get the same amount of coverage.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2022
Insignificant it had been, even while occupied by men the caliber of Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John C. Calhoun and Theodore Roosevelt.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 13, 2016
Insignificant pearls of various sizes and shapes - slugs - were sold to costume jewelry manufacturers.
From Washington Times • Mar. 21, 2015
Insignificant events of this sort, he implied, couldn't upset the grand plan that lay behind the war.
From BBC • Jan. 10, 2014
Insignificant, in-sig-nif′i-kant, adj. destitute of meaning: without effect: unimportant: petty.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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.
