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significant

[ sig-nif-i-kuhnt ]
/ sɪgˈnɪf ɪ kənt /
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See synonyms for: significant / significants / significantly on Thesaurus.com

adjective
important and deserving of attention; of consequence: Their advice played a significant role in saving my marriage.
relatively large in amount or quantity: a significant decrease in revenue.
having or expressing a meaning; indicative: a significant symbol of royalty.
having a special, secret, or disguised meaning; suggestive: a significant wink.
Statistics. of or relating to observations that are unlikely to occur by chance and that therefore indicate a systematic cause: Memory training produced a statistically significant improvement in group performance.
noun
something significant; a sign.
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Origin of significant

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin significant- (stem of significāns ), present participle of the verbsignificāre “to indicate, denote”; see signify, -ant

OTHER WORDS FROM significant

sig·nif·i·cant·ly, adverbnon·sig·nif·i·cant, adjectivesu·per·sig·nif·i·cant, adjectiveun·sig·nif·i·cant, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

WHEN TO USE

What are other ways to say significant?

The adjective significant describes things that are important, indicative of something, or suggestive of a hidden secret meaning. Do you know when to use significant, expressive, meaningful, and suggestive? Find out on Thesaurus.com

How to use significant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for significant

significant
/ (sɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt) /

adjective
having or expressing a meaning; indicative
having a covert or implied meaning; suggestive
important, notable, or momentous
statistics of or relating to a difference between a result derived from a hypothesis and its observed value that is too large to be attributed to chance and that therefore tends to refute the hypothesis

Derived forms of significant

significantly, adverb

Word Origin for significant

C16: from Latin significāre to signify
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
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