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

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 of negligible

• 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

While negligible to his overall earnings, the penalty fits the league’s recent crackdown on celebrations and taunting, as several players were fined earlier this season for similar actions. —Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025

But interest-earnings differences between the accounts are negligible now and are likely to shift in the months ahead. —Matt Richardson, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025

The study establishes that this magnetic influence is quantifiable and significant, accounting for approximately 17% of the observed rotation in visible light and rising to 70% in the infrared spectrum—factors previously considered negligible in optical physics. —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Nov. 2025

An independent analysis from the California Health Benefits Review Program found the law would have had negligible impact on insurance premiums. —Halle Berry, Time, 17 Nov. 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