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irrelevant

adjective
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ir·​rel·​e·​vant | \ i-ˈre-lə-vənt How to pronounce irrelevant (audio) \

Definition of irrelevant

: not relevant : inapplicable that statement is irrelevant to your argument
Other Words from irrelevant Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about irrelevant

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Other Words from irrelevant

irrelevantly adverb

Examples of irrelevant in a Sentence

His comment is completely irrelevant. irrelevant questions that merely disrupted the classroom lesson
Recent Examples on the Web Whether its value is disproportionate to the value of the heroin, the state argued, is irrelevant. — Crystal Hill, Indianapolis Star, "'A victory': Indiana returns Land Rover after 6 years — with strings attached," 28 May 2020 Nash said the claim was misleading, and that the administration’s measure is irrelevant. — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, "Two Coasts. One Virus. How New York Suffered Nearly 10 Times the Number of Deaths as California.," 16 May 2020 Remdesivir’s on-paper value is irrelevant if governments have to divert funds for essential services in order to afford it. — Damian Garde, STAT, "Less than a movie ticket or ‘impossible to overpay’? Experts name their price for remdesivir," 15 May 2020 While many societies remain locked down in various forms of isolation and social distancing, there's a growing population for whom these measures may be irrelevant: those who have had a SARS-CoV-2 infection and cleared it. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Researchers say those recovered from SARS-CoV-2 can be a societal shield," 14 May 2020 Prosecutors argued that there was no evidence that Watts and Regina Andrews had ever met, and therefore police initially suspecting him was irrelevant. — Cory Shaffer, cleveland, "Cleveland man convicted in 1975 of murder wins new trial over withheld report pointing to different suspect," 1 May 2020 Small school players will often say their college choice is irrelevant: If a player is good enough to play in the NFL, teams will find you. — Joseph Hoyt, Dallas News, "Chasing ghosts: How coronavirus has impacted the pre-NFL draft process for non-FBS prospects," 19 Apr. 2020 Some of these mutations are irrelevant to the virus's behavior but can be useful in tracking how specific versions of the virus spread both within and between populations and could ultimately be useful in tracing sources of infections. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "We don’t know yet whether a mutation has made SARS-CoV-2 more infectious," 6 May 2020 For so long, Americans have pretended that our home lives are irrelevant to our work. — Danielle J. Lindemann, Quartz at Work, "Work-life balance is a lie—and coronavirus is exposing it," 26 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'irrelevant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of irrelevant

1786, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for irrelevant

Time Traveler

The first known use of irrelevant was in 1786

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Statistics for irrelevant

Last Updated

31 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Irrelevant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irrelevant. Accessed 4 Jun. 2020.

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More Definitions for irrelevant

irrelevant

adjective
How to pronounce irrelevant (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of irrelevant

: not important or relating to what is being discussed right now : not relevant

See the full definition for irrelevant in the English Language Learners Dictionary

irrelevant

adjective
ir·​rel·​e·​vant | \ i-ˈre-lə-vənt How to pronounce irrelevant (audio) \

Kids Definition of irrelevant

: having no importance or relation to what is being considered What's that got to do with it? That's irrelevant.

irrelevant

adjective
ir·​rel·​e·​vant | \ ir-ˈre-lə-vənt How to pronounce irrelevant (audio) \

Legal Definition of irrelevant

: not relevant : not applicable or pertinent irrelevant allegations irrelevant evidence — compare immaterial

Other Words from irrelevant

irrelevantly adverb

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More from Merriam-Webster on irrelevant

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for irrelevant

Spanish Central: Translation of irrelevant

Nglish: Translation of irrelevant for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of irrelevant for Arabic Speakers

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