germane
Americanadjective
-
closely or significantly related; relevant; pertinent.
Please keep your statements germane to the issue.
- Synonyms:
- suited, apt, fitting, appropriate, apposite, applicable, related
-
Obsolete. closely related.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- germanely adverb
- germaneness noun
- nongermane adjective
- ungermane adjective
Etymology
Origin of germane
Variant of german
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.
It’s a germane question not only because Mr. Rubio presumably wants one day to be the party’s standard-bearer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026
Before 2008, the size of the Fed’s balance sheet wasn’t germane to monetary policy.
From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026
“My subject is myself, so this kind of work, in my relationships and with myself, is germane to my writing,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2025
These are both important points, and they seem particularly germane in 2025.
From Slate • Apr. 30, 2025
A point that Aristotle makes that is particularly germane here is that arguments are made from accepted premises—“and many accepted premises are mutually contradictory.”
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
