insignificance

American  

[in-sig-nif-i-kuhns] / ˌɪn sɪgˈnɪf ɪ kəns /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being insignificant; lack of importance or consequence.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-insignificance
  noun

Etymology

Origin of insignificance

First recorded in 1690–1700; insignific(ancy) + -ance

Example Sentences

Despite the pile-up of particulars, Metcalfe knows he must find the lost poem, that it is the keystone without which the story crumbles into insignificance.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025

Lola is a relative free spirit with an open heart but a sense of limits; Aimée’s performance emphasizes the essential innocence, or maybe insignificance, of her flirtations.

From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2024

Almost always, she said, there is a predictable sequence in which people take-in an eclipse: it begins with a sense of wrongness and primal fear, followed by a feeling of connectedness and insignificance.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2024

Coined by legendary psychoanalyst Alfred Adler in the 1920s, the term initially described children driven by their small size and social insignificance to strive for power over their environment.

From National Geographic • Nov. 22, 2023

The New York Tribune also praised her, writing, “All the past efforts of Miss Anthony and Mrs. Stanton sink to insignificance beside the ingenious lobbying of the new leader and her daring declaration.”

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling