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. ); see 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

See Examples For:

irrelevance

Thankfully, Millennials already have a pretty good example of how to rage toward irrelevance.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Every college football coach in the country spent last season with their jaws on the floor as they watched Indiana go from spectacular irrelevance to undefeated dominance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Another indicator of the document’s irrelevance is that it was issued by the Board of Peace, an organization that has no authority or power to do anything.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

On social-media platforms like X, some investors have loudly proclaimed that after years of serving as the dominant cryptocurrency, bitcoin might finally be lurching toward irrelevance.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

The shell was interesting and pretty and a worthy plaything; but the vivid phantoms of his day-dream still interposed between him and Piggy, who in this context was an irrelevance.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding