negligible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- negligibility noun
- negligibleness noun
- negligibly adverb
- nonnegligibility noun
- nonnegligible adjective
- nonnegligibleness noun
- nonnegligibly adverb
- quasi-negligible adjective
- quasi-negligibly adverb
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
It's the Little Things: Synonyms for "Small"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Both boards said that Rana had a negligible chance of recovering and living a normal life, and that he required external support for feeding, bladder and bowel movements.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
For hip osteoarthritis, evidence of moderate certainty pointed to negligible improvement.
From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026
For example, whereas a distorted video or lag had a negligible impact, glitches involving sustained video loss, echoes or brief freezes were substantially more detrimental to the candidate’s likelihood of being hired.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026
Yet the negligible bump projected to insurers indicates that companies will be looking for cost-savings.
From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026
The subprime mortgage industry Eisman once knew better than anyone on the planet had been a negligible corner of the capital markets.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
