WordGarden.ioinconsequence
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /ɪnkˈɒnsɪkwəns/
US
Meanings
Noun
lack of importance or significance
lack of logical connection or coherent sequence
Beyond the definition
"Inconsequence" usually describes a lack of importance. It fits things that seem small, slight, or not worth much attention. Imagine a pebble dropped into the ocean: the splash is brief, and soon it is gone. That sense of having little weight or effect is the heart of the word. A minor detail in a story, a passing remark, or a small social mistake might all be treated as matters of inconsequence.
In more formal writing, the word can also point to a lack of clear connection in thought. If someone speaks with inconsequence, their ideas may drift without a strong link from one point to the next. In that sense, the word does not just suggest smallness; it suggests that what is being said or done lacks solid meaning or order.
"Inconsequence" is a formal word for a lack of importance, significance, or weight. It belongs to the kind of language often found in essays, older fiction, and careful criticism. When something is of inconsequence, it does not matter much in the larger view. A passing comment, a tiny error, or a side issue in a long debate may all be treated as inconsequence because they do not change the result or deserve much attention.
The word can also be used for a lack of logical connection. In that sense, it describes speech, writing, or reasoning that does not move forward in a clear, orderly way. One idea fails to follow from the last; the thread loosens; the listener is left with pieces instead of a pattern. A speaker whose remarks wander from point to point may be accused of inconsequence, especially in formal or literary contexts.
These two senses are related. In both, the word suggests a failure of weight, force, or proper follow-through. Sometimes that failure is practical, because the thing itself hardly matters. Sometimes it is logical, because the ideas do not hang together. What the word does not usually mean is simply a life without punishment or an action without penalties. Its center is importance and connection, not freedom from consequences.
So when you meet "inconsequence," think first of something slight, negligible, or loosely connected. It is a quiet, thoughtful word, and it often carries the feeling that what seemed worth noticing has faded into something much smaller.
Examples
- 1
Medical costs
Next to the cost of the surgery, the hotel bill was an inconsequence.
- 2
Public controversy
Once the data leak became public, the earlier argument over design changes became a matter of inconsequence.
- 3
Political disputes
After the election, the party's smaller internal disputes faded into inconsequence.
- Patternfade into inconsequence
gradually come to seem unimportant
See also
Similar
- insignificance
- triviality
- unimportance
Shades of meaning
- irrelevance
- negligibility
Contrast
Used with (collocations)
- fade into inconsequence
- relative inconsequence
- political inconsequence
Word family
Explore
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- inconsequencenoun