important
Americanadjective
-
of much or great significance or consequence.
an important event in world history.
-
mattering much (usually followed byto ).
details important to a fair decision.
-
entitled to more than ordinary consideration or notice.
an important exception.
-
prominent or large.
He played an important part in national politics.
-
of considerable influence or authority, as a person or position.
an important scientist.
-
having social position or distinction, as a person or family.
important guests.
-
pompous; pretentious.
When speaking, he assumes an important attitude that offends his audience.
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Obsolete. importunate.
adjective
-
of great significance or value; outstanding
Voltaire is an important writer
-
of social significance; notable; eminent; esteemed
an important man in the town
-
specially relevant or of great concern (to); valued highly (by)
your wishes are important to me
-
an obsolete word for importunate
Usage
Both more important and more importantly occur at the beginning of a sentence in all varieties of standard English: More important (or More importantly), her record as an administrator is unmatched. Today, more importantly is the more common, even though some object to its use on the grounds that more important is an elliptical form of “What is more important” and that the adverb importantly could not occur in such a construction. More importantly probably developed by analogy with other sentence-modifying adverbs, as curiously, fortunately, and regrettably.
The use of more importantly as in more importantly, the local council is opposed to this proposal has become very common, but many people still prefer to use more important
Other Word Forms
- half-important adjective
- half-importantly adverb
- importantly adverb
- preimportant adjective
- preimportantly adverb
- quasi-important adjective
- quasi-importantly adverb
- superimportant adjective
- superimportantly adverb
- unimportant adjective
- unimportantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of important
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin important-, stem of importāns, present participle of importāre “to be of consequence, weigh,” from Latin: “to carry in, import,” equivalent to im- im- 1 ( def. ) + port- port 5 ( def. ) + -ans -ant ( def. ); import ( def. )
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.
Newton said the fact that the S&P 500 has pushed above an important technical level of 6,903 means it could finish above 7,000 by the end of the year.
From MarketWatch
This book is an important reminder that you can protect the environment joyfully.
From Los Angeles Times
“For UMG and many of the artists that you associate with holiday music, it will be the most important time of the year, without a doubt,” Szydlowski said.
From Los Angeles Times
“The most important thing in criminal cases is to have the clients get immediate treatment, and be able to cooperate in his defense, which will not happen while he’s in jail,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
That’s a small but important comfort in hard days, and maybe the best gift of all.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
