significant

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English

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Etymology

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From Latin significans, present participle of significare, from signum (sign) + ficare (do, make), variant of facere.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /sɪɡˈnɪf.ə.kənt/, /sɪɡˈnɪf.ə.ɡənt/
    • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

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significant (comparative more significant, superlative most significant)

  1. Signifying something; carrying meaning.
    Synonym: meaningful
    a significant word or sound
    a significant look
    • 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World [], London: [] William Stansby for Walter Burre, [], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):
      It was well said of Plotinus, that the stars were significant, but not efficient.
    • 1856, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, chapter III, in The Wreck of the Golden Mary, part two, page 99:
      As evening came on, it grew prematurely dark and cloudy; while the waves acquired that dull indigo tint so significant of ugly weather.
  2. Having a noticeable or major effect.
    Synonym: notable
    That was a significant step in the right direction.
    The First World War was a significant event.
    • 2015, Shane R. Reeves, David Wallace, “The Combatant Status of the “Little Green Men” and Other Participants in the Ukraine Conflict”, in International Law Studies, US Naval War College[1], volume 91, number 361, Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, page 393:
      The “little green men”—faces covered, wearing unmarked olive uniforms, speaking Russian and using Russian weapons—have played a significant role in both the occupation of Crimea and the civil war in eastern Ukraine.196
  3. Reasonably large in number or amount.
  4. Having a covert or hidden meaning.
  5. (statistics) Having a low probability of occurring by chance (for example, having high correlation and thus likely to be related).
  6. (mathematics) Of a digit or figure, see significant figure.

Synonyms

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Sense 1 (meaningful):

Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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significant (plural significants)

  1. That which has significance; a sign; a token; a symbol.

References

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Catalan

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Verb

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significant

  1. gerund of significar

Latin

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Verb

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significant

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of significō