important

From Middle English important, from Medieval Latin importānt-, importāns.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɔːtənt/, [ɪmˈpʰɔːʔn̩t]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɔɹtənt/, [ɪmˈpʰɔɹʔn̩t]
• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpo(ː)ɹtənt/, [ɪmˈpʰo(ː)ɹtn̩t], [ɪmˈpʰɔɹʔɪ̃nt̚]
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpo.tənt/, [ɪmˈpʰoətn̩t]

• Audio (US)

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• Audio

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important (comparative more important, superlative most important)

1. Having relevant and crucial value.

   It is very important to give your daughter independence in her life so she learns from experience.

   • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], OCLC 16832619:

     Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess‎:

     The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. […] The second note, the high alarum, not so familiar and always important since it indicates the paramount sin in Man's private calendar, took most of them by surprise although they had been well prepared.

   • 1988, Robert Ferro, Second Son:

     For this was the most important thing, that when a person felt strongly about an issue in life, it mustn’t be ignored by others; for if it was, everything subsequent to it would turn out badly, even though there should seem to be no direct connection.

   • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

     In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.

• significant
• weighty
• See also Thesaurus:important

• negligible
• ignorable
• petty
• slight
• unimportant

• importantly, importantness, unimportant, VIP

• import
• importance

important (masculine and feminine plural importants)

1. important

• importantment

• importància

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.tɑ̃/

• audio

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important (feminine singular importante, masculine plural importants, feminine plural importantes)

1. important

   Il est important de se brosser les dents.

   It is important to brush your teeth.

2. significant

   Une partie importante des votes

   A significant number of the votes

• importance

important

1. present participle of importer

• “important” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

important

1. third-person plural present active indicative of importō

From French important.

• IPA^(key): [im.porˈtant]

important m or n (feminine singular importantă, masculine plural importanți, feminine and neuter plural importante)

1. important