Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The state or quality of being significant: synonym: importance.
- noun A meaning that is expressed or implied.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun That which, is signified; purport; covert sense; real or implied meaning; that which may be inferred in regard to any state of things from any circumstance: as, the significance of a metaphor, of a chance remark, of a look, of behavior.
- noun Importance; move strictly, importance as significative of something interesting, but also, frequently, importance as affecting considerable interests: as, the great significance of many small things.
- noun The character of being significant; force of meaning; distinct signification; expressiveness.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being significant.
- noun That which is signified; meaning; import.
- noun Importance; moment; weight; consequence.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
extent to which somethingmatters ;importance - noun
Meaning .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the message that is intended or expressed or signified
- noun the quality of being significant
- noun a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word significance.
Examples
-
In scholarly writing, the term significance refers to a very specialized statistical feature known in most fields as statistical significance.
May 2009 2009
-
In scholarly writing, the term significance refers to a very specialized statistical feature known in most fields as statistical significance.
-
The temptation to view sports events as symbolizing matters of larger significance is too infrequently resisted, but the second Louis-Schmeling fight merits the distinction.
The Standard Bearer 2010
-
The death of Osama bin Laden may or may not have great long-term significance, but there is no denying its immediate impact.
Europe Needs a Spirit-Lifting Victory Paul Hannon 2011
-
That, too, alters in significance with shifts in Brian Engel's savvy lighting.
Forum Theatre's 'Scorched': Rambling play acted with admirable force Nelson Pressley 2010
-
The easiest way to prevent statistical significance is by using a pathetically small number of subjects in your experiment.
Jeffrey Smith: GE Salmon? Are You Out of Your Minds?! Jeffrey Smith 2010
-
One way you could cue the readers to its significance is to overdo the style in a caricaturish way.
-
That may be the longer-term significance of yesterday's initiative – and in time it will have to involve Mr Clegg as well.
-
I love contemplative first person narratives, in which nothing happens and yet everything of significance is profoundly altered.
-
Cannadine suggests: "In its length, its range, its importance, its accomplishments and its long-term significance, Andrew Mellon's was one of the biggest American lives of its times."
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.