insignificant
UK[ˌɪnsɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt]US[ˌɪnsɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt]
adj
too small or unimportant to be worth consideration.
adj
lacking meaning or importance.
Morpheme Breakdown
in
significant
in
not
significant
meaningful
Etymology
the word insignificant is a straightforward negation formed in english by adding the latin-derived negative prefix 'in-' to the adjective 'significant'. 'significant' itself stems from the latin verb 'significare', meaning "to show by signs, to mean", which is composed of 'signum' (sign, mark) and the combining form of 'facere' (to make). thus, the literal construction "not meaningful" evolved from the concrete idea of not making a sign or mark worthy of notice. over time, its application broadened from lacking literal meaning to describing anything of little consequence, value, or importance.
Analysis
Structure: in (not) + significant (meaningful)
in- is a Latin-origin prefix meaning "not". significant is an English adjective derived from Latin 'significans', meaning "meaningful" or "important".
Examples
the difference in price was insignificant, so i chose the more convenient option.
he felt his contributions were insignificant compared to the team's overall effort.
archaeologists often sift through tons of soil to find fragments others might consider insignificant.