significance
Americannoun
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importance; consequence.
the significance of the new treaty.
- Antonyms:
- triviality
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meaning; import.
The familiar place had a new significance for her.
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the quality of being significant or having a meaning.
to give significance to dull chores.
noun
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consequence or importance
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something signified, expressed, or intended
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the state or quality of being significant
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statistics
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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
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( as modifier ) Compare confidence level See also hypothesis testing
a significance level
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Synonym Usage
See importance. See meaning.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of significance
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (from Middle French ), from Latin significantia “force, meaning,” equivalent to significant- ( see significant) + -ia -ia; ( see -ance)
Explanation
Significance means having the quality of being "significant" — meaningful, important. It also refers to the meaning of something. A certain date might have significance because it's your birthday or the anniversary of Princess Di's wedding. Significance starts with the word sign for a reason. An item's significance is a sign of its importance. The significance of something can be implicit or explicit — meaning it can be clear or only known with a deeper understanding of the situation. Your perfect score on the Calculus exam might have added significance for people who know that you never even opened your textbook to study.
Vocabulary lists containing significance
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Nothing But the Truth
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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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.
Trump's proclamation notes the existing protection, but says "nonetheless, the Oval Office merits specific recognition and protective management as a discrete historic structure of national significance".
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
The significance of the discovery may extend well beyond dinosaurs.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Prof. Henke summarizes the significance for the future: "The melt is no longer a rigid intermediate state. It becomes a reaction space in which we can program the structure."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
“I didn’t know who James Baldwin was. I didn’t know who Josephine Baker was. I didn’t know the significance of the Berlin Wall. I had never been out of the country, let alone Louisiana.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
It should immediately be apparent that in a culture in which experience was taking on a new significance, the term ‘fact’ was invaluable because it identified that type of knowledge which is grounded in experience.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
