irrelevant

[ih-rel-uh-vuhnt]

adjective

1. not relevant; not applicable or pertinent.

   His lectures often stray to interesting but irrelevant subjects.

2. Law.,  (of evidence) having no probative value upon any issue in the case.

irrelevant

/ ɪˈrɛləvənt /

adjective

1. not relating or pertinent to the matter at hand; not important

Pronunciation Note

The pronunciation of irrelevant , as , as if spelled irrevelant, is the result of metathesis, the transposition of two sounds, in this case, the and the . Relevant, the base word, is occasionally subject to the same process. Analogy with words like prevalent and equivalent may play a role. A similar reordering of the and consonant sounds, althought not a strict one-to-one metathesis, can be heard for Calvary when pronounced . Here the transposition is reinforced by the existence of the familiar word cavalry.

Other Word Forms

• irrelevantly adverb
• irrelevance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of irrelevant¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

Worrying about rate cuts seems histrionic, and arguably irrelevant, since corporate earnings are strong.

Read more on Barron's

Worrying about rate cuts seems histrionic, and arguably irrelevant, since corporate earnings are strong.

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“Unless we know exactly what time the property was stolen, and from what address, an alibi is irrelevant.”

Read more on Literature

He added that the ban was not for them to consider and was irrelevant to the evidence in this case.

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Your Party officials have dismissed MoU's complaints as irrelevant and accused it of shifting the goalposts.

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Related Words

• extraneous 
• immaterial 
• inappropriate 
• inconsequential 
• insignificant 
• pointless 
• trivial 
• unimportant 
• unnecessary 
• unrelated