different between lofty vs significant

English

Etymology

From Middle English lofty, lofti, lofte (“of high rank; noble; ornate”), equivalent to loft +? -y; see loft (“sky, firmament; upper room”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: l?ft?i, IPA^(key): /?l?fti/
• (General American) enPR: lôft?i, IPA^(key): /?l??fti/
• (cot–caught merger, Canada) enPR: l?ft?i, IPA^(key): /?l?fti/
• Rhymes: -?fti, -??fti

Adjective

lofty (comparative loftier, superlative loftiest)

1. high, tall, having great height or stature
   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 551:

     When the night was half spent, I rose and walked on, till the day broke in all its beauty and the sun rose over the heads of the lofty hills and athwart the low gravelly plains.

2. idealistic, implying over-optimism

   a lofty goal

   • 2013, Delme Parfitt in Wales Online, Cardiff City 1 - 0 Swansea City: Steven Caulker heads Bluebirds to South Wales derby win (3 November 2013)

     A goal from Steven Caulker, just after the hour mark, was enough to hand victory to Malky Mackay's men, with Swansea falling some way short of the lofty standards they have set previously at this level.

3. extremely proud; arrogant; haughty
   • F. Harrison

     that lofty pity with which prosperous folk are apt to remember their grandfathers

Synonyms

• (having great height or stature): noble, honorable

Antonyms

• (having great height or stature): mean, ignoble
• (idealistic): familiar, vulgar

Related terms

• loft
• aloft

Translations

English

Etymology

From Latin significans, present participle of significare, from signum (“sign”) + ficare (“do, make”), variant of facere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s???n?.f?.k?nt/

• (US, also) IPA^(key): /s???n?.f?.??nt/

Adjective

significant (comparative more significant, superlative most significant)

1. Signifying something; carrying meaning.

   Synonym: meaningful

   • It was well said of Plotinus, that the stars were significant, but not efficient.
2. Having a covert or hidden meaning.
3. Having a noticeable or major effect.

   Synonym: notable
4. Reasonably large in number or amount.
5. (statistics) Having a low probability of occurring by chance (for example, having high correlation and thus likely to be related).

Usage notes

• This word may be ambiguous in some situations. In formal writing, care should be taken with comments such as "the difference is significant," because it is not clear without contextual clues whether significant modifies the fact that there is a difference ("notable"), or the difference itself ("large in number or amount"). In some such situations, large and other synonyms may be used in its place.

Synonyms

• important

Antonyms

• insignificant
• ignorable
• negligible
• slight

Related terms

• significance
• significand
• significant other
• signify

Translations

Noun

significant (plural significants)

1. That which has significance; a sign; a token; a symbol.
   • a. 1850, William Wordsworth, The Egyptian Maid

     And in my glass significants there are

References

significant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Catalan

Verb

significant

1. present participle of significar

Latin

Verb

significant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of signific?