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significant - 5 dictionary results

sig⋅nif⋅i⋅cant

  [sig-nif-i-kuhnt]
Use significant in a Sentence
–adjective
1. important; of consequence.
2. having or expressing a meaning; indicative; suggestive: a significant wink.
3. Statistics. of or pertaining to observations that are unlikely to occur by chance and that therefore indicate a systematic cause.
–noun
4. something significant; a sign.
Origin:
1570–80; < L significant- (s. of significāns), prp. of significāre to signify; see -ant

Related forms:
sig⋅nif⋅i⋅cant⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. consequential, momentous, weighty. 2. See expressive.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sig·nif·i·cant   (sĭg-nĭf'ĭ-kənt)   
adj.  
  1. Having or expressing a meaning; meaningful.
  2. Having or expressing a covert meaning; suggestive: a significant glance. See Synonyms at expressive.
  3. Having or likely to have a major effect; important: a significant change in the tax laws.
  4. Fairly large in amount or quantity: significant casualties; no significant opposition.
  5. Statistics Of or relating to observations or occurrences that are too closely correlated to be attributed to chance and therefore indicate a systematic relationship.

[Latin significāns, significant-, present participle of significāre, to signify; see signify.]
sig·nif'i·cant·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Significant

Sig*nif"i*cant\, a. [L. significans, -antis, p. pr. of significare. See Signify.]

1. Fitted or designed to signify or make known somethingl having a meaning; standing as a sign or token; expressive or suggestive; as, a significant word or sound; a significant look.

It was well said of Plotinus, that the stars were significant, but not efficient. --Sir W. Raleigh.

2. Deserving to be considered; important; momentous; as, a significant event.

Significant figures (Arith.), the figures which remain to any number, or decimal fraction, after the ciphers at the right or left are canceled. Thus, the significant figures of 25,000, or of .0025, are 25.

Significant

Sig*nif"i*cant\, n. That which has significance; a sign; a token; a symbol. --Wordsworth.

In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : significant
Spanish: significativo, importante,
German: bedeutsam,
Japanese: 重要な
More Translations »

Main Entry: sig·nif·i·cant
Pronunciation: sig-'nif-i-k&nt
Function: adjective
: probably caused by something other than mere chancesignificant correlation between vitamin deficiency and disease> —sig·nif·i·cant·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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