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nonsignificant

A2
Rare

Pronunciation

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      Meanings

      Adjective

      1. not statistically significant or not showing a reliable measured effect

      2. not important, meaningful, or consequential

      Beyond the definition

      If something is nonsignificant, it is too small or unimportant to matter much. It may be there, but it does not change the bigger picture in any real way. Think of a tiny speck of dust on a large painting: you can see it, but it does not change what the painting is.

      The word is also common in science and statistics. There, it often means a result was not strong enough to count as meaningful. A nonsignificant difference between two groups, for example, suggests the gap may be due to chance rather than a real pattern. In everyday writing, it can also describe a small detail, such as a nonsignificant delay that does not cause real trouble.

      Examples

      1. 1

        Research comparison

        The study found a nonsignificant difference between the two treatments.

        • Usage

          nonsignificant is mostly used in research or statistics; in everyday speech, not significant is more common.

      2. 2

        Adjusted results

        The increase in test scores was nonsignificant after the researchers adjusted for age.

      3. 3

        Statistical model

        Several variables were nonsignificant, so the team removed them from the final model.

      4. 4

        Age groups

        The correlation was nonsignificant for younger adults but significant for older adults.

      More examples
      1. 5

        Statistical threshold

        The result was nonsignificant at the 0.05 level.

        • Domainat the 0.05 level

          using a common statistical cutoff

      See also

      Similar

      Shades of meaning

      Contrast

      Used with (collocations)

      • nonsignificant result
      • nonsignificant difference
      • nonsignificant effect

      Word family

      Explore

      • p-value
      • null hypothesis

      Forms and spellings

      1 form open this card.

      Main spelling

      • nonsignificantadjective