negligible

USAGE SUMMARY

'negligible' is a correct and usable word in written English.
You can use it to describe something that is so small or unimportant that it can be safely disregarded or ignored. For example: "The cost of fixing the problem was negligible compared to the potential financial losses."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

The number of people who venture to Llangennith is negligible compared to most of Devon or Cornwall, but the road is like a funnel and it doesn't take much to get jammed.

The Guardian - Travel

More likely, it reveals a depth of frustration about what was being achieved, and the extent to which her own reputation, not to mention her view of herself, risked being degraded by remaining inside the tent to negligible effect.

The Guardian

The result is that the centripetal force the group once exerted has gone and we have returned to a situation similar to that of the old "pre-al-Qaida" days with a whole series of different local groups involved in local struggles with negligible central co-ordination.

The Guardian

After five years of almost negligible growth in revenue, for three years from 2016-17 is is expected to grow on average by 8.1% each year – not quite peak mining boom levels, but certainly nothing to sneeze at.

The Guardian - Business

Mauritius is known for its secrecy, negligible corporate tax rates, and for being a favoured conduit for wealthy individuals and multinationals wishing to avoid tax on African and Asian profits.

The Guardian

The Tories say the line would go from London to Leeds, a route on which air has a negligible share.

The Guardian - Opinion

The use of e-cigarettes among those who never smoked is said to be negligible.

The Guardian

However, for the masses that missed out on the in-store experience, the digital offering was negligible and a huge missed opportunity.

The Guardian

All interviewees stressed that the numbers attracted by extremist ideologies remained negligible compared to India's Muslim population of 180 million, around 14% of the country's overall population of 1.26 billion.

The Guardian

That will cut Treasury income by a negligible £13.6m a year.

The Guardian

Labour lost the election in two key regions: Scotland and "middle England", where the ethnic minority vote is negligible at best.

The Guardian - Opinion

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "negligible" to clearly indicate that something is so small or unimportant that it can be disregarded without affecting the overall outcome or analysis.

Common error

Avoid using "negligible" when describing impacts or effects that are actually substantial or meaningful, as this can mislead your audience and undermine the credibility of your analysis.

Linguistic Context

The adjective "negligible" functions to qualify a noun, indicating that its quantity, effect, or significance is so small as to be unworthy of consideration. Ludwig AI confirms its correct usage, as demonstrated in the examples provided.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

47%

Formal & Business

28%

Science

25%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the adjective "negligible" is a versatile term used to describe something so small or unimportant that it can be disregarded. As Ludwig AI indicates, it's grammatically correct and widely used, particularly in news, business, and scientific contexts. When writing, ensure you're using "negligible" to accurately represent insignificant impacts, avoiding overstatement, and choose semantically similar alternatives such as "insignificant" or ""minimal"" when appropriate. With a high source quality score and prevalence across authoritative sources, "negligible" remains a reliable and effective term for conveying a lack of consequence.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

insignificant

Focuses on the lack of importance of something.

minimal

Highlights that something is at the lowest possible level.

trivial

Emphasizes the lack of seriousness or worth of something.

inconsequential

Underscores the lack of impact or effect of something.

paltry

Suggests that something is not only small but also worthless.

slight

Implies that something is small in degree or amount.

unimportant

Directly states that something lacks significance.

minuscule

Stresses the extremely small size of something.

imperceptible

Highlights that something is impossible or difficult to perceive.

immaterial

Indicates that something is irrelevant or of no consequence.

FAQs

How to use "negligible" in a sentence?

You can use "negligible" to describe something that is so small or unimportant that it can be safely disregarded. For example, "The risk of side effects is "minimal"." or "The impact on the environment was "inconsequential"."

What can I say instead of "negligible"?

You can use alternatives like "insignificant", ""minimal"", or "trivial" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "negligible impact" or "negligibly impact"?

"Negligible impact" is correct. "Negligible" is an adjective, so it modifies the noun "impact". "Negligibly" is an adverb and would be used to modify a verb.

What's the difference between "negligible" and "insignificant"?

While both words suggest a lack of importance, "negligible" often implies that something is so small it can be ignored, whereas "insignificant" simply means lacking in importance or value.