irrelevant
- 1Having no important or useful bearing on the matter under discussion; not applicable to the situation in a meaningful way.
The witness offered a lot of detail that was irrelevant to the actual charge.
Her age is irrelevant to whether she can do the job well.
Similarunimportant, immaterial, inapplicable, incidental
Oppositerelevant, material, pertinent, applicable
Note
Here a connection exists but carries no weight. The synonyms tell it apart: immaterial, incidental, unimportant, while the absolute sense keeps company with unrelated, random and alien. A useful test is whether you could concede "yes, it's connected, but it doesn't matter." If so, this is the meaning. Her age touches on the job, yet it does not decide whether she can do it.
- 2Completely unrelated to the matter at hand; having no connection or application to it whatsoever.
The defendant's hobbies were irrelevant to the question of who signed the contract.
He kept raising points that were entirely irrelevant to the budget we were reviewing.
Similarunrelated, unconnected, alien
- 3Not relevant; not bearing on the subject or situation under consideration.
Much of the report was irrelevant to the decision the board faced.
He kept raising irrelevant objections that had nothing to do with the proposal.
Similarunrelated, immaterial, extraneous, inapplicable, inconsequential
Oppositerelevant, pertinent, applicable, germane
Note
The word is built plainly from ir- and relevant, and it almost always names what something is irrelevant to: a discussion, a case, a life. In Wally Lamb's The Hour I First Believed (2008), a student declares algebra "irrelevant to her life" and strolls out. Two grades sit inside it: the absolute "no connection at all" and the weaker "not important here". It compares freely: more irrelevant, most irrelevant.
- 4No longer famous, popular, or in the public eye; past one's prime as a cultural figure.
Once a household name, the actor is now largely irrelevant, surfacing only in nostalgia pieces.
Critics called the franchise irrelevant, a relic that audiences had long since moved past.
Similarforgotten, washed-up, outdated, obsolete
Oppositerelevant, popular, current, famous
Note
In slang the word becomes a put-down: calling a performer or a franchise irrelevant says the public has stopped caring. Unlike the other uses, it needs no "to" after it. The actor is simply irrelevant. Because it judges a person's standing rather than an argument's, it lands as an insult. In neutral writing, "no longer popular" or "past their peak" says the same thing without the sneer.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of irrelevant apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Formed from the prefix ir-, meaning 'not', combined with relevant.