as in meant
to be of importance
she believes that doing well in school really does matter
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Recent Examples of mattered
The failure mode that mattered in early 2026 was data exfiltration.
—
Janakiram Msv, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Not by consolidating everything into a single super-platform — that’s a different and usually a more expensive conversation — but by making sure the systems that mattered could exchange information without manual handoffs.
—Dennis Woodside, Fortune, 17 May 2026
Avedon built his career at magazines in an era when magazines mattered.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
The flurry of headlines about what was left out of the film—most obviously, the 1993 lawsuit that accused Jackson of molesting a 13-year-old, and subsequent lawsuits alleging similar abuse—also haven’t mattered.
—Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 16 May 2026
The big screen was the only screen that mattered.
—Vin Diesel, Variety, 16 May 2026
Of course, the opinion that mattered most was my grandmother's, the inspiration behind the dessert.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
The team found that this internal structure mattered enormously.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 9 May 2026
Probably Bayern’s worst performance of the season in the game that mattered the most.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 7 May 2026
Janakiram Msv, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Not by consolidating everything into a single super-platform — that’s a different and usually a more expensive conversation — but by making sure the systems that mattered could exchange information without manual handoffs.
—Dennis Woodside, Fortune, 17 May 2026
Avedon built his career at magazines in an era when magazines mattered.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
The flurry of headlines about what was left out of the film—most obviously, the 1993 lawsuit that accused Jackson of molesting a 13-year-old, and subsequent lawsuits alleging similar abuse—also haven’t mattered.
—Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 16 May 2026
The big screen was the only screen that mattered.
—Vin Diesel, Variety, 16 May 2026
Of course, the opinion that mattered most was my grandmother's, the inspiration behind the dessert.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
The team found that this internal structure mattered enormously.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 9 May 2026
Probably Bayern’s worst performance of the season in the game that mattered the most.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 7 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mattered
Verb
-
Mussa was meant to resettle in Nebraska, in February, 2025.—
Annie Hylton,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
-
Ahead of the March board meeting, the district approved a contract with the teachers union that meant there would be no layoffs for the teaching staff.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
YouGov’s fine print notes that their survey was done online among nearly 3,000 adults, and explicitly weighed factors like age, race and education.—
Rachel Marsden,
Hartford Courant,
16 May 2026
-
The Steelers had reportedly expected Rodgers' decision at various points since the 2025 season ended, but Rodgers weighed his future in silence.—
Garrett Behanna,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mattered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mattered. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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