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
… was suffering terribly from the bad reviews and negligible sales of his first book …—
E. L. Doctorow
E. L. Doctorow
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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.
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
Hemp is a variety of cannabis with a negligible level of the psychoactive compound THC.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026
For most applications, those imperfections are negligible.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 27 May 2026
Credit risk is negligible, as the US government owns the printing press for producing dollars.
—Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
Franck may have good reasons to be terrorizing Nora’s family, but explaining them away only flattens his character as the titular party plays out like your average hostage scenario, with a few negligible tweaks and flourishes.
—Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for negligible
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Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026
For most applications, those imperfections are negligible.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 27 May 2026
Credit risk is negligible, as the US government owns the printing press for producing dollars.
—Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
Franck may have good reasons to be terrorizing Nora’s family, but explaining them away only flattens his character as the titular party plays out like your average hostage scenario, with a few negligible tweaks and flourishes.
—Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for negligible
Cite this Entry
“Negligible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/negligible. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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