negligible

adjective

neg·​li·​gi·​ble ˈne-gli-jə-bəl 

: so small or unimportant or of so little consequence as to warrant little or no attention : trifling

a negligible error

last year sales were negligible

a negligible risk

a negligible effect

negligibility

ˌne-gli-jə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

negligibly

ˈne-gli-jə-blē 

adverb

Did you know?

Negligible comes from the same Latin verb as neglect, so something negligible is literally "neglectable". If an accident results in negligible damage to your car, you should be thankful. If two years of intense focus on testing in the classroom results in a negligible improvement in student test scores, it's probably time to try something new.

Synonyms

• nominal
• slight
• insignificant
• trivial
• tiny

Examples of negligible in a Sentence

A negligible amount of damage was done to the vehicle.

The price difference was negligible.

Recent Examples on the Web

Both titles sold a negligible sum in the week previous, and nearly all of their sales in the latest week were from vinyl purchases. —Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 7 July 2025

There are now negligible claims of mistakes in capital punishment verdicts, partially because of DNA evidence. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 4 July 2025

Broadway began its new season last week with a negligible dip at the box office, understandable given that the previous week had the included the tourist-friendly Memorial Day weekend holiday. —Greg Evans, Deadline, 3 June 2025

Their average weight loss was 3.6 kilograms, compared to a negligible 0.2 kilogram change in the omnivorous control group. —Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latinization of French négligeable, from négliger "to disregard, neglect" (going back to Middle French negliger, borrowed from Latin neglegere, neclegere "to disregard, do nothing about") + -able -able — more at neglect entry 1

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

negligible

adjective

neg·​li·​gi·​ble ˈneg-li-jə-bəl 

: so small or unimportant as to deserve little or no attention

a negligible error

negligibly

-blē 

adverb