significantly
Americanadverb
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in a way or as a fact that is important and deserves attention.
Significantly, Australia was a nation born in peacetime, not war.
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by a relatively great amount or to a relatively high degree.
She seems to have grown significantly as a character—her decisions are more mature, for one thing.
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in a way that carries special, secret, or private meaning.
The detective looked significantly at the collection of pills on the table, but said nothing.
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Statistics. in a way or to a degree that is unlikely to occur by chance and therefore indicates a systematic cause.
These results show that sleep significantly affects memory organization, even in the infant brain.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of significantly
Explanation
Anything that happens significantly happens in a big way. A significantly happier person has gotten much happier. Moving into a significantly bigger house means you can finally get that indoor pony. Significant things are important. When you see the word significantly, you know something is a big deal. A significantly higher tax rate would upset many people, because taxes went up a lot. A significantly lower-than-usual snowfall would upset skiers, because no one likes skiing on dry ground. A significantly timed speech happens at a time that is meaningful for some reason, like on a major holiday. This word often means the same as importantly.
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.
"The media will focus on this situation, which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition," wrote Montagliani.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
It’s offensive because cases like ours could have been settled for significantly less than what the verdict is.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
"We have now been able to show that the mortality is significantly lower than that among those who actually take part in the screening."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
The tax benefits help to ensure that a significantly higher portion of your estate passes to your children tax-free.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
We now know that the volume of atmospheric carbon-14 varies depending on how well or not Earth’s magnetism is deflecting cosmic rays, and that that can vary significantly over time.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
