different between insignificant vs nugatory

English

Etymology

From in- (“not”) +? significant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ns???n?f?k?nt/
• Hyphenation: in?sig?nif?i?cant

Adjective

insignificant (comparative more insignificant, superlative most insignificant)

1. Not significant; not important, inconsequential, or having no noticeable effect.

   Such things are insignificant details compared to the main goal.

2. Without meaning; not signifying anything.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:insignificant

Antonyms

• significant

Derived terms

• insignificance
• insignificantly

Translations

Catalan

Adjective

insignificant (masculine and feminine plural insignificants)

1. insignificant (not important)

   Antonym: significant

Related terms

• insignificança

Further reading

• “insignificant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “insignificant” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “insignificant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “insignificant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Occitan

Adjective

insignificant m (feminine singular insignificanta, masculine plural insignificants, feminine plural insignificantas)

1. insignificant (not important)

   Antonym: significant

Related terms

• insignificança

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin n?g?t?rius

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?nju???t??i/

Adjective

nugatory (comparative more nugatory, superlative most nugatory)

1. Trivial, trifling or of little importance.
   • 1872, Benjamin Disraeli, Suez Canal Speech

     I might refer to the general conviction and the common sense of society that such an investment cannot be treated as absolutely idle and nugatory.

2. Ineffective, invalid or futile.
   • 1792, George Washington, Fourth State of the Union Address

     I can not dismiss the subject of Indian affairs without again recommending to your consideration the expediency of more adequate provision for giving energy to the laws throughout our interior frontier and for restraining the commission of outrages upon the Indians, without which all pacific plans must prove nugatory.
3. (law) Having no force, inoperative, ineffectual.
   • 1819, Chief Justice John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland (17 U.S. 316)

     The word "necessary" is considered as controlling the whole sentence, and as limiting the right to pass laws for the execution of the granted powers to such as are indispensable, and without which the power would be nugatory.

4. (computing) Removable from a computer program with safety, but harmless if retained.

Translations