significance

[sig-nif-i-kuhns]

noun

1. importance; consequence.

   the significance of the new treaty.

   Synonyms: weight, moment
   Antonyms: triviality

2. meaning; import.

   The familiar place had a new significance for her.

3. the quality of being significant or having a meaning.

   to give significance to dull chores.

significance

/ sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəns /

noun

1. consequence or importance

2. something signified, expressed, or intended

3. the state or quality of being significant

4. 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 ) Compare confidence level See also hypothesis testing

      a significance level

Other Word Forms

• nonsignificance noun
• self-significance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of significance¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (from Middle French ), from Latin significantia “force, meaning,” equivalent to significant- ( significant ) + -ia -ia; ( -ance )

Synonym Study

See importance. See meaning.

Example Sentences

Lawyers claim the environmental assessment submitted as part of the airport's planning application did not "properly evaluate the significance of inbound flight emissions".

Read more on BBC

Among them, protists -- tiny, single-celled organisms -- are especially remarkable for their evolutionary significance.

Read more on Science Daily

The Victorians worried about a “world denuded of larger significance,” but we suffer from both material surfeit and spiritual abundance, and are captive to a surplus of competing and increasingly angry gods.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The batting was arguably of the highest quality that women's cricket has ever seen - but of wider significance is what an India triumph at a home World Cup could mean.

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“The real strategic significance of Seoul’s development of nuclear-powered submarines lies in their implications for nuclear weapons development.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• consequence 
• gravity 
• influence 
• magnitude 
• matter 
• merit 
• prestige 
• relevance 
• virtue 
• weight