irrelevance

American  

[ih-rel-uh-vuhns] / ɪˈrɛl ə vəns /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being irrelevant.

2. an irrelevant thing, act, etc.

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Etymology

Origin of irrelevance

1840–50; ir- ² + relevance ( def. ); relevant ( def. )

Explanation

Irrelevance represents what is NOT at all important to what’s going on right now. Anything that distracts you from this sentence is clearly an example of irrelevance. The Latin root word for irrelevance is relevare, which means “raising up.” The prefix ir- means “not,” therefore if a situation does not relate to or raise your interest, it’s irrelevant. In a courtroom, lawyers who lose sight of their case argue about irrelevances, and your sister speaks with irrelevance when she wakes you up to talk about rainbows. It’s always best to focus on important things, but irrelevance now and then won’t kill you.

Example Sentences

The European Union also warned in a recent submission that the organisation was "at a critical and, in fact, an existential juncture", while Britain cautioned that "without reform, it will slide into irrelevance".

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

Boatwright would be wise to heed this history and either take Chipotle into new frontiers or prepare for its inevitable irrelevance.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

PayPal now has “institutional irrelevance among top merchants,” he wrote in a Tuesday blog post.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 4, 2026

Assuming that most Americans value our mission is a recipe for irrelevance and decline.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026

Jack checked, vaguely irritated by this irrelevance but too happy to let it worry him.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding