irrelevant
Americanadjective
-
not relevant; not applicable or pertinent.
His lectures often stray to interesting but irrelevant subjects.
-
Law. (of evidence) having no probative value upon any issue in the case.
adjective
Pronunciation
The pronunciation of irrelevant , as , as if spelled irrevelant, is the result of metathesis, the transposition of two sounds, in this case, the and the . Relevant, the base word, is occasionally subject to the same process. Analogy with words like prevalent and equivalent may play a role. A similar reordering of the and consonant sounds, althought not a strict one-to-one metathesis, can be heard for Calvary when pronounced . Here the transposition is reinforced by the existence of the familiar word cavalry.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irrelevant
First recorded in 1780–90
Explanation
If you're talking about hockey and someone keeps trying to mention football, you might describe their comments as irrelevant. Irrelevant means not related to the subject at hand. If a rock star becomes irrelevant, it means people are not relating––or even listening––to his music anymore. It isn't part of what people are thinking or talking about. The opposite is relevant, meaning related. An analysis of brush strokes in Manet's painting would be relevant to a discussion of texture in painting in general. Relevant was borrowed from Medieval Latin relevare "to bear upon," from Latin, "to lift up." The prefix ir-, meaning "not," is a variant of in- before words that begin with the letter r.
Vocabulary lists containing irrelevant
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Keystone Exams: English Composition Glossary
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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.
Strouse, 65 years old, said she wasn’t contacted by the AG and didn’t think to reach out to him because she considered the relatively diminutive size of the scholarship irrelevant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
They resorted to the common, if infantile tactic of asking repeated simple but irrelevant questions in an attempt to embarrass their target.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
While Le Pen beamed at the cameras, brushing off suggestions her deputy would mind being sidelined and insisting "our personal ambitions are absolutely irrelevant", he barely reacted and scarcely smiled.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
A franchise about the anxiety of being replaced and irrelevant makes bank on its fifth installment.
From Slate ● Jul. 3, 2026
He was a Connecticut Yankee in Milagro’s court, and a blind man could see that whatever he might know enough about to teach somebody would be totally irrelevant to these people.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
