significant

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

significant (comparative more significant, superlative most significant)

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 37026674, (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.
Having a covert or hidden meaning.
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, 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
Reasonably large in number or amount.
(statistics) Having a low probability of occurring by chance (for example, having high correlation and thus likely to be related).

Synonyms

important

Antonyms

insignificant
ignorable
negligible
slight

Related terms

significance
significand
significant other
signify

Translations

signifying something; carrying meaning

Bulgarian: изрази́телен (bg) (izrazítelen)
Esperanto: signifa
Finnish: merkitsevä (fi)
Greek:
Ancient: σημαντικός (sēmantikós)
Hungarian: jelentős (hu)
Icelandic: marktækur
Italian: significativo (it), eloquente (it)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: watedar (ku)
Latin: significans
Latvian: nozīmīgs
Plautdietsch: wichtich
Romanian: semnificativ (ro)
Russian: зна́чимый (ru) (znáčimyj)
Sanskrit: आर्थिक (sa) (ārthika)
Spanish: significativo (es)
Tagalog: makahulugan

having a covert or hidden meaning

Finnish: merkitsevä (fi)

having noticeable effect

Arabic: هَامّ‎ (hāmm)
Armenian: էական (hy) (ēakan)
Belarusian: зна́чны (znáčny), ва́жны (vážny)
Bulgarian: съще́ствен (bg) (sǎštéstven), значи́телен (bg) (značítelen)
Catalan: significatiu (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 重要 (zh) (zhòngyào), 有意義／有意义 (yǒu yìyì)
Czech: významný (cs), důležitý (cs)
Danish: signifikant
Dutch: voelbaar (nl), waarneembaar (nl), beduidend (nl), significant (nl), veelbetekenend (nl), betekenisvol (nl)
Finnish: merkittävä (fi), merkityksellinen (fi)
French: significatif (fr)
Georgian: მნიშვნელოვანი (mnišvnelovani)
German: signifikant (de), bedeutend (de)
Hebrew: משמעותי‎ (mashma'uti), ממשי‎ (mamashi)
Hungarian: jelentős (hu)
Interlingua: significante
Italian: significativo (it), epocale, rimarchevole (it), notevole (it)
Japanese: 重要な (ja) (じゅうような, jūyō na), 著しい (ja) (いちじるしい, ichijirushii)
Korean: 중요(重要)하다 (ko) (jung'yohada), 상당(相當)하다 (ko) (sangdanghada)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: giring (ku)
Latin: ponderōsus, significāns
Latvian: redzams, ievērojams
Macedonian: значаен (značaen)
Maori: tāpua
Old English: please add this translation if you can
Persian: please add this translation if you can
Polish: znaczny (pl), znaczący (pl)
Portuguese: significativo (pt)
Romanian: semnificant (ro), important (ro), semnificativ (ro)
Russian: значи́тельный (ru) (značítelʹnyj), суще́ственный (ru) (suščéstvennyj)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: зна̏ча̄јан
Roman: znȁčājan (sh)
Slovak: významný, dôležitý (sk), značný, signifikantný (sk)
Slovene: pomemben
Spanish: importante (es), significativo (es)
Swedish: signifikant (sv), betydelsefullt (sv), betydande (sv)
Turkish: önemli (tr), anlamlı (tr), manalı (tr), kayda değer (tr)
Ukrainian: значни́й (značnýj), істо́тний (istótnyj), суттє́вий (suttjévyj)
Vietnamese: quan trọng (vi)

reasonably large

Bulgarian: значи́телен (bg) (značítelen)
Finnish: merkittävä (fi)
Italian: elevato (it), alto (it)
Russian: значи́тельный (ru) (značítelʹnyj)

statistics: having a low probability of occurring by chance

Bulgarian: значи́м (bg) (značím)
Finnish: merkitsevä (fi)
French: significatif (fr)
Hungarian: szignifikáns
Italian: significativo (it)
Russian: зна́чимый (ru) (znáčimyj)
Spanish: significativo (es)
Swedish: signifikant (sv)

Noun

significant (plural significants)

That which has significance; a sign; a token; a symbol.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iv]:
  In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts.
- a. 1850, William Wordsworth, The Egyptian Maid
  And in my glass significants there are

References

significant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Catalan

Verb

significant

present participle of significar

Latin

Verb

significant

third-person plural present active indicative of significō