Describing Significance: English Vocabulary List

playing a crucial role or serving as a key point of reference

"This is a pivotal moment."

"The scientist's discovery was pivotal to the development of the vaccine and millions of lives have been saved as a result of her work."

holding the most power, importance, or influence

"Her career is ascendant."

"The young politician's career is ascendant and many people believe that she will become the next prime minister of the country."

highly significant or impactful

"A momentous decision was made."

"The signing of the peace treaty was a momentous occasion and leaders from all over the world gathered to witness the historic event."

surpassing others in quality, distinction, or importance

"He is a preeminent leader."

"The university hired a preeminent scholar to lead the research department and his reputation attracted funding from many international sources."

having a strong influence on future developments, ideas, or work

"A seminal study was published."

"The scientist published a seminal paper that changed the way biologists think about evolution and his ideas are still debated today."

insignificant or of little importance

"A piffling sum of money."

"The company offered a piffling settlement that would not even cover the cost of repairing the damage so the customer decided to sue them."

small, unimportant, or not worth much attention

"A piddling amount of effort."

"The intern was paid a piddling wage that barely covered his bus fare and he had to eat ramen noodles for every meal."

beyond what is necessary or required

"Remove superfluous words."

"The extra paragraph in the essay was superfluous and the teacher told the student to remove it because it did not add any value."

considered to be of small importance or value

"Don't sweat picayune things."

"The committee spent hours arguing over picayune details like the color of the logo while ignoring the much more important budget issues."

not relevant or significant to the current situation, discussion, etc.

"The detail is immaterial."

"The witness's testimony was immaterial to the case because it did not provide any evidence about whether the defendant had committed the crime."

easily replaced or sacrificed without significant loss or consequence, indicating a lack of value

"The soldiers were expendable."

"The manager treated the temporary workers as expendable and he fired them without hesitation whenever the budget needed to be cut."