Significant

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/

Definitions

1. Having notable importance or meaning in a given context
2. Denoting a marked impact or relevance that influences decisions or interpretations
3. Having notable importance or value within a particular situation or context ; showing a result or difference that is unlikely to be due to chance

Etymology: The adjective "significant" carries a sense of making something visible, which its Latin parts spell out. It comes from Latin "significans," the present participle of "significare," built from "signum" meaning "sign" and "ficare," a form of "facere," meaning "do" or "make." Put together, the root idea is "to make a sign" or "to make known," so a significant thing is one that makes something else clear. That original sense of showing or indicating is still present in its modern meaning. Something significant is important because it points to something beyond itself, whether that is a meaning, a consequence, or a broader pattern. The word's core notion has stayed close to its Latin beginnings: to signal and to mean.

Synonyms: important, notable, meaningful, consequential, substantial

Antonyms: insignificant, trivial, unimportant, negligible, minor