negligible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of negligible
Explanation
When something is meaningless or insignificant because it is so little, it's negligible. The amount of interest you'll get on your savings is negligible, so you might as well spend your money. If you work really hard on something, but the praise you get for it is negligible, you won't try so hard next time. Besides meaning very small, negligible can mean unimportant or not worth paying attention to. If you get into a fender-bender, you've gotten into a car accident with negligible damage. School concert programs always offer a word of thanks to the principal and other members of the administration whose role in the concert seems to be negligible.
Vocabulary lists containing negligible
Essential English Vocabulary, List 2
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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It's the Little Things: Synonyms for "Small"
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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.
Negligible impact or not, the increasingly hazy economic indicators make Jerome Powell’s job all the more difficult.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2025
Box office: Negligible as it's another Netflix release.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2022
Negligible amounts are held in workplace retirement plans.
From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2019
Negligible tax evasions of the babysitter variety, less rewarding for the I.R.S. to pursue, would emerge.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 3, 2016
The Cytoplasm Not Negligible in Inheritance.—Just what part is played by the cytoplasm in inheritance is not clear, but it is probably by no means a negligible one.
From Being Well-Born An Introduction to Eugenics by Guyer, Michael F.
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.
