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

Ultimately, this was a negligible move made at the end of a trade frenzy. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026

Both Provide Some Fiber The difference in fiber per serving between hazelnuts and pistachios is negligible. —Mark Gurarie, Verywell Health, 6 Feb. 2026

With one or two exceptions, this trade deadline may just be an accounting exercise of slinging slop contracts back and forth with negligible on-court impact. —John Hollinger, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026

Still, the interest-earning differential is negligible, and rates here can and will change, particularly over an extended period. —Matt Richardson, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2026

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