relevant
Americanadjective
adjective
-
having direct bearing on the matter in hand; pertinent
-
linguistics another word for distinctive
Pronunciation
See irrelevant.
Related Words
See apt.
Other Word Forms
- nonrelevant adjective
- relevance noun
- relevancy noun
- relevantly adverb
- unrelevant adjective
- unrelevantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of relevant
First recorded in 1550–60; from Medieval Latin relevant-, stem of relevāns, special use of Latin present participle of relevāre “to raise, lift up”; relieve ( def. ), -ant ( def. )
Explanation
Something is relevant if it's appropriate or connected to the matter at hand. Relevant things are helpful and on point. Relevant things are appropriate and make sense at that particular time. In the middle of history class, your teacher loves to get relevant questions: questions that have to do with the material. The teacher won't be thrilled to get a question about math: that's not relevant. You can also say a song or movie is relevant if it's connected to current events or issues people are talking about. When something is relevant, it just fits what is happening.
Vocabulary lists containing relevant
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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List 1
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
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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.
Khalifeh is accused of submitting a citation of one case that did not exist and two citations that were not relevant to the arguments for which they were cited in an April 2025 document.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
In Claude’s Privacy and ChatGPT’s Personalization settings, you can view and manage memories, deleting any facts that aren’t relevant.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
"Our findings may open a route toward compact gravitational-wave sensing, where the relevant atomic ensemble is millimeter-scale," said Navdeep Arya, a postdoctoral researcher at Stockholm University.
From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026
The rapid proliferation of drones has made many of those weapons less relevant, and spurred Ukrainian rag-tag arms producers to become global leaders in drone warfare and anti-drone systems.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Ralph Meyers took the stand before this Court, swore to tell the truth and proceeded to recant most, if not all, of the relevant portions of his testimony at trial.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
