importance

[im-pawr-tns]

noun

1. the quality or state of being important; consequence; significance.

   Synonyms: concern, weight, moment

2. important position or standing; personal or social consequence.

3. consequential air or manner.

   an air of bustling importance.

4. Obsolete.,  an important matter.

5. Obsolete.,  importunity.

6. Obsolete.,  import or meaning.

importance

/ ɪmˈpɔːtəns /

noun

1. the state of being important; significance

2. social status; standing; esteem

   a man of importance

3. obsolete

   1. meaning or signification

   2. an important matter

   3. importunity

Other Word Forms

• preimportance noun
• unimportance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of importance¹

First recorded in 1495–1505; Medieval Latin importantia; important ( def. ), -ance ( def. )

Synonym Study

Importance, consequence, significance, moment all signify something valuable, influential, or worthy of note. Importance is the most general of these, assigning exceptional or notable value or influence to a person or thing: the importance of Einstein's discoveries. Consequence may suggest outstanding personal quality or position, or it may suggest importance because of results to be produced: a woman of consequence in world affairs; an event of great consequence for our future. Significance can be used interchangeably with importance or consequence, but it carries also the implication of importance that is not readily or immediately recognized: The significance of the discovery only became clear years later. Moment, on the other hand, almost always refers to immediately apparent, self-evident importance: a change of great moment for the nation's political system.

Example Sentences

It was Abraham Lincoln who decisively developed Niles’s insight and clinched the case for the importance of the Revolution and the Founders to all Americans.

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He’s the emotional anchor of this life-affirming and quietly resonant film about the importance of being together — a movie that announces Hikari as a major talent.

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Nevertheless, Housel reiterated the error in “overstating money’s importance” for individual happiness.

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Nevertheless, Housel reiterated the error in “overstating money’s importance” for individual happiness.

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That vision rose from its grounded beginnings to a place of global importance.

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Related Words

• attention 
• concern 
• consequence 
• effect 
• emphasis 
• gravity 
• influence 
• interest 
• priority 
• relevance 
• sense 
• seriousness 
• usefulness www.thesaurus.com
• value