insignificant
Americanadjective
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unimportant, trifling, or petty.
Omit the insignificant details.
-
too small to be important.
an insignificant sum.
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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
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having little or no importance; trifling
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almost or relatively meaningless
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small or inadequate
an insignificant wage
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not distinctive in character, etc
Other Word Forms
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
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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.
"However insignificant it may seem, the smallest piece of information could prove crucial in helping us establish what happened and identify those responsible."
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The second most insignificant statistic might be a team’s record after Game 1.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
"Sometimes a tiny, seemingly insignificant cause is enough to trigger a huge and dramatic change," says Prof. Daniel Grumiller from TU Wien.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
“You’ve got China moving from being insignificant to being the world’s largest vehicle exporter in only a five-year period.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Except for one little shrub, she said, the mistletoe, so insignificant she had passed it by.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
