consequential

[kon-si-kwen-shuhl]

adjective

1. following as an effect, result, or outcome; resultant; consequent.

2. following as a logical conclusion or inference; logically consistent.

3. of significance or importance.

   His writings offer insight into his personality, opinions, and strengths, and show early evidence of the consequential man he would become.

4. having important effects or results.

   Being a lawyer, I knew that a consequential decision should not depend on an informal phone conversation.

5. Archaic.,  self-important; pompous.

consequential

/ ˌkɒnsɪˈkwɛnʃəl /

adjective

1. important or significant

2. self-important; conceited

3. following as a consequence; resultant, esp indirectly

   consequential loss

Usage

Although both consequential and consequent can refer to something which happens as the result of something else, consequent is more common in this sense in modern English: the new measures were put into effect, and the consequent protest led to the dismissal of those responsible

Other Word Forms

• consequentiality noun
• consequentialness noun
• consequentially adverb
• nonconsequential adjective
• nonconsequentially adverb
• nonconsequentialness noun
• nonconsequentiality noun
• quasi-consequential adjective
• quasi-consequentially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of consequential¹

First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin consequenti(a) “sequence (of events), logical sequence” + -al adjective suffix; consequence, -al ¹

Example Sentences

The more consequential applications of AI in finance involve improving the core functions of markets themselves: pricing assets, measuring risk, detecting shifts in the economy, and managing volatility.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It isn’t obvious there is, at least not anything consequential.

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Yet this is consequential to more than Catholic thought.

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His slaying is widely regarded as one of the most consequential — and contentious— events of recent Mexican history.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

After surviving some of the war’s most consequential battles, Greenwood goes home and then he becomes a privateer, Ward says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• far-reaching 
• meaningful 
• momentous 
• substantial 
• weighty