significance

[sig-nif-i-kuhns]

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noun

importance; consequence: the significance of the new treaty.
meaning; import: The familiar place had a new significance for her.
the quality of being significant or having a meaning: to give significance to dull chores.

Origin of significance

1400–50; late Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin significantia force, meaning, equivalent to significant- (see significant) + -ia -ia; see -ance

Related formsnon·sig·nif·i·cance, nounself-sig·nif·i·cance, noun

Synonyms for significance

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1. moment, weight. See importance. 2. See meaning.

Antonyms for significance

1. triviality.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for significance

connotation, implication, understanding, sense, weight, matter, influence, gravity, merit, relevance, magnitude, virtue, consequence, prestige, heart, force, meat, point, nitty-gritty, nub

Examples from the Web for significance

Contemporary Examples of significance

Most people, however, understood the significance of the photo immediately-- especially those who share my skin.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?
Goldie Taylor
December 30, 2014
The significance of the history of women in the early Church is not lost on Episcopalian.
First Anglican Woman Bishop A Return to Christian Roots
Candida Moss
December 18, 2014
Her experiences are recorded in a prison diary in which she has visions that have significance for the whole community.
First Anglican Woman Bishop A Return to Christian Roots
Candida Moss
December 18, 2014
The quote is apocryphal, but that has not changed its significance for Army football players.
A West Point MVP Who Never Played a Down
Nicolaus Mills
December 13, 2014
He was a!ways ready to tell a story that seemed fraught with significance.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014

Historical Examples of significance

Of the significance of the life of this great man, it would be superfluous to speak.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
It is doubtful if she would have realized its significance, had she seen it.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
And this illustration has significance for more than the physical order of revelation.
Understanding the Scriptures
Francis McConnell
Even then its significance was disregarded and its importance underrated.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
Peter knew he was experiencing a ceremony of some kind, the significance of which he must learn.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter

British Dictionary definitions for significance

significance

noun

consequence or importance
something signified, expressed, or intended
the state or quality of being significant
statistics
1. a measure of the confidence that can be placed in a result, esp a substantive causal hypothesis, as not being merely a matter of chance
2. (as modifier)a significance level Compare confidence level See also hypothesis testing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for significance

c.1400, "meaning," from Old French significance or directly from Latin significantia "meaning, force, energy," from significans, present participle of significare "to mean, import, signify" (see signify). The earlier word was signifiance (mid-13c.). Meaning "importance" is from 1725. Related: Significancy.