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
neg·li·gi·bil·i·ty
ˌneglə̇jəˈbilətē
-lēj-,
-ətē,
-i
plural -es
: the quality or state of being negligible
differences between the two positions dwindle to negligibility—Lucius Garvin
Lucius Garvin
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.
Examples of negligible in a Sentence
Adjective
A negligible amount of damage was done to the vehicle.
The price difference was negligible.
Recent Examples on the Web
W. Gyude Moore,
semafor.com,
2 July 2026
She is classified at the BOP’s lowest institutional risk levels and her PATTERN Score, a measure of risk for violence or reoffending, is negligible.
—
Walter Pavlo,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
To any tired parent, five minutes sounds relatively negligible.
—
Taylor Grothe,
Parents,
28 June 2026
The gap between both teams appears negligible, so the risk of Japan losing and potentially finishing third, meeting France in the last 32, is also on the cards.
—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
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Adjective
Many Americans have long accepted that a small fraction of their tax dollars should help keep vulnerable people alive overseas, particularly when the cost to them is negligible.
—
W. Gyude Moore,
semafor.com,
2 July 2026
She is classified at the BOP’s lowest institutional risk levels and her PATTERN Score, a measure of risk for violence or reoffending, is negligible.
—
Walter Pavlo,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
To any tired parent, five minutes sounds relatively negligible.
—
Taylor Grothe,
Parents,
28 June 2026
The gap between both teams appears negligible, so the risk of Japan losing and potentially finishing third, meeting France in the last 32, is also on the cards.
—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
24 June 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 Jul. 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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