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
• consequentially adverb
• consequentialness noun
• 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

Search results reveal substantial evidence that voter reaction to scandals remains consequential and materially affects electoral viability.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Even more consequential was the trust that the Barbers placed in Marshall Stearns, who had an academic pedigree in medieval literature and a subsuming interest in the ethnomusicology of jazz.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In work with our Hoover Institution colleague Daniel Heil, we’ve documented that key assumptions remain hidden, model revisions are made without explanation, and even politically consequential scores rely on unpublished or soon-to-change methods.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Leo’s most consequential outreach has been within the Catholic Church itself.

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One of the most consequential of the economic reports delayed by the 43-day federal government shutdown finally arrives on Tuesday.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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