consequential
Americanadjective
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following as an effect, result, or outcome; resultant; consequent.
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following as a logical conclusion or inference; logically consistent.
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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.
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having important effects or results.
Being a lawyer, I knew that a consequential decision should not depend on an informal phone conversation.
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Archaic. self-important; pompous.
adjective
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important or significant
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self-important; conceited
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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
Etymology
Origin of consequential
First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin consequenti(a) “sequence (of events), logical sequence” + -al adjective suffix; see consequence, -al 1
Explanation
Things that are consequential are important — extremely important. Electing a new president and having a baby are consequential. Killing a fly? Not so much. It might help you remember the meaning of consequential to think of consequences — the results of something. Consequential events have consequences, because they are hugely important events. A little bit of rain isn't consequential, but a hurricane is very consequential. Slipping on the sidewalk is not usually consequential, but if you slip and end up in the hospital, that is definitely consequential. It's occasionally hard to tell whether something is consequential, at least until some time has passed.
Vocabulary lists containing consequential
Vocabulary from Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech, November 9, 2016
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Pax
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"How the Media Twists the News"
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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.
Take the consequential months after Darwin’s return to England in October 1836 after his nearly five-year voyage around the world on HMS Beagle, when his theory of evolution was a flicker in his mind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
One of the study's most consequential findings involved conventional cardiovascular risk assessment.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
Photographer Lisette Poole González recently set out on a road trip across the island to document this consequential moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Cornell University said that while it supported the case being bought before a grand jury, "any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false".
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
If permitted to define a decade somewhat loosely, then the next decade was the most crucial and consequential in American history.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
