# significant

Pronunciation: US say "sig-NIF-uh-kuhnt" /sɪɡˈnɪf.ə.kənt/; UK say "sig-NIF-i-kuhnt" /sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/

## Adjective

1. Large or important enough to be noticed or to make a real difference.
   - Simple: Big or important enough to notice or to matter.
   - _The reforms had a significant impact on the country's economy._
   - _The new bridge has made a significant difference to how long it takes commuters to get into the city._
2. Unlikely to have occurred by chance alone, as judged by a statistical test, and so taken as evidence of a real relationship or effect.
   - Simple: So unlikely to happen by chance alone that it is taken as a sign of a real effect.
   - _The correlation between the two variables turned out to be statistically significant._
   - _Once the researchers controlled for age, the drug's effect on blood pressure was no longer significant._
3. Having or expressing a special meaning, especially one that is suggested rather than stated.
   - Simple: Showing a meaning without saying it in words, like a look or silence that tells you something.
   - _Her significant glance told everyone the deal was off._
   - _There was a significant pause before he answered, and everyone in the room understood what it meant._
4. Of a digit, carrying information about the precision of a measurement or numerical value.
   - Simple: Describing a digit in a number that adds to how precise the number is.
   - _Measurements should be recorded to the correct number of significant digits._
   - _Leading zeros that only place the decimal point are never counted as significant._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Something that carries significance; a sign, token, or symbol that stands for something beyond itself.

## Origin

From Latin significans, the present participle of significare ("to signify"), which comes from signum ("sign") combined with ficare, a variant of facere ("do, make").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/significant (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).