insignificant
Americanadjective
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unimportant, trifling, or petty.
Omit the insignificant details.
-
too small to be important.
an insignificant sum.
-
of no consequence, influence, or distinction.
a minor, insignificant bureaucrat.
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without weight of character; contemptible.
an insignificant fellow.
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without meaning; meaningless.
insignificant sounds.
noun
adjective
-
having little or no importance; trifling
-
almost or relatively meaningless
-
small or inadequate
an insignificant wage
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not distinctive in character, etc
Other Word Forms
- insignificance noun
- insignificantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of insignificant
First recorded in 1620–30; in- 3 + significant
Explanation
When something is insignificant, it doesn't matter. The fact that your mom gets to school a half hour late becomes insignificant when she announces you're stopping for ice cream on the way home. The word signify, which is at the heart of insignificant, means "to mean." Significant means "meaningful." Add in- "not," and you have "not meaningful." A company can fire a worker from an insignificant job and still function. In a crisis, your feelings are insignificant; it is your actions that matter.
Vocabulary lists containing insignificant
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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The Alchemist
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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.
Outside of their destroying the concept of privacy, or being complicit in its destruction, they are colossally insignificant.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Given this history, losing the Y chromosome later in life was once considered insignificant.
From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2026
It’s a seemingly insignificant move — but one that promises to substantially increase the amount of index-fund assets invested in Vietnamese equities.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 12, 2026
These are "not insignificant" effects in a context of "fairly fragile global economic growth", he added.
From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026
“Not to diminish your accomplishments, but the Allegiant are still too insignificant to be any more than a small uprising,” Marcus says.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
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.
