Etymology, English, Significant

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɪɡˈnɪ.fɪ.kənt/

Adjective

significant (comparative more significant, superlative most significant)

1. Signifying something; carrying meaning.

   Synonym: meaningful

   a significant word or sound

   a significant look

2. Having a covert or hidden meaning.
3. 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.

4. Reasonably large in number or amount.
5. (statistics) Having a low probability of occurring by chance (for example, having high correlation and thus likely to be related).

Usage notes

• This word may be ambiguous in some situations. In formal writing, care should be taken with comments such as “the difference is significant,” because it is not clear without contextual clues whether significant modifies the fact that there is a difference (“notable”), or the difference itself (“large in number or amount”). In some such situations, large and other synonyms may be used in its place.