negligible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of negligible
Explanation
When something is meaningless or insignificant because it is so little, it's negligible. The amount of interest you'll get on your savings is negligible, so you might as well spend your money. If you work really hard on something, but the praise you get for it is negligible, you won't try so hard next time. Besides meaning very small, negligible can mean unimportant or not worth paying attention to. If you get into a fender-bender, you've gotten into a car accident with negligible damage. School concert programs always offer a word of thanks to the principal and other members of the administration whose role in the concert seems to be negligible.
Vocabulary lists containing negligible
Essential English Vocabulary, List 2
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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It's the Little Things: Synonyms for "Small"
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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.
“Deal volume has gone from essentially negligible prior to 2020 to well over $100 billion…with GLP-1 and obesity among the hottest areas within that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Now it is time to see if that was the right move, the wrong one or something that has a negligible impact on the outcome of the first NFL game in Australia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
He added that as those benefits "have been phased out or superseded" he expected a "negligible number of applications" under SDC criterion next year.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
The magazine also raved about “skinny queen” influencer Amanda Dobler for “not apologizing” after coaching followers to avoid even wasabi and soy sauce, because their negligible calorie counts are deemed excessive.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
In other areas, though, that role of cereals was taken over or shared by roots and tubers, which were of negligible importance in the ancient Fertile Crescent and China.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
