significant
Americanadjective
-
important and deserving of attention; of consequence.
Their advice played a significant role in saving my marriage.
- Synonyms:
- weighty, momentous, consequential
-
relatively large in amount or quantity.
a significant decrease in revenue.
-
having or expressing a meaning; indicative.
a significant symbol of royalty.
-
having a special, secret, or disguised meaning; suggestive.
a significant wink.
-
Statistics. of or relating to observations that are unlikely to occur by chance and that therefore indicate a systematic cause.
Memory training produced a statistically significant improvement in group performance.
noun
adjective
-
having or expressing a meaning; indicative
-
having a covert or implied meaning; suggestive
-
important, notable, or momentous
-
statistics of or relating to a difference between a result derived from a hypothesis and its observed value that is too large to be attributed to chance and that therefore tends to refute the hypothesis
Usage
What are other ways to say significant? The adjective significant describes things that are important, indicative of something, or suggestive of a hidden secret meaning. Do you know when to use significant, expressive, meaningful, and suggestive? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- nonsignificant adjective
- significantly adverb
- supersignificant adjective
- unsignificant adjective
Etymology
Origin of significant
First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin significant- (stem of significāns ), present participle of the verb significāre “to indicate, denote”; signify, -ant
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.
The 9,000 jobs created so far across the two farms is significant.
From BBC
WASHINGTON—The U.S. is sending significant numbers of jet fighters and support aircraft to the Middle East, assembling the greatest amount of air power in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Carvana said it expects “significant growth” in sales and profits this year, “assuming the environment remains stable.”
From MarketWatch
“The evidence will show she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media.”
From Los Angeles Times
That’s a significant premium to the median sales price of a new home more broadly, which was just under $400,000 in October, the most recent month for which data is available.
From Barron's
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.
