important
Americanadjective
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of much or great significance or consequence.
an important event in world history.
-
mattering much (usually followed byto ).
details important to a fair decision.
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entitled to more than ordinary consideration or notice.
an important exception.
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prominent or large.
He played an important part in national politics.
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of considerable influence or authority, as a person or position.
an important scientist.
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having social position or distinction, as a person or family.
important guests.
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pompous; pretentious.
When speaking, he assumes an important attitude that offends his audience.
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Obsolete. importunate.
adjective
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of great significance or value; outstanding
Voltaire is an important writer
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of social significance; notable; eminent; esteemed
an important man in the town
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specially relevant or of great concern (to); valued highly (by)
your wishes are important to me
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an obsolete word for importunate
Usage
Both more important and more importantly occur at the beginning of a sentence in all varieties of standard English: More important (or More importantly), her record as an administrator is unmatched. Today, more importantly is the more common, even though some object to its use on the grounds that more important is an elliptical form of “What is more important” and that the adverb importantly could not occur in such a construction. More importantly probably developed by analogy with other sentence-modifying adverbs, as curiously, fortunately, and regrettably.
The use of more importantly as in more importantly, the local council is opposed to this proposal has become very common, but many people still prefer to use more important
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of important
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin important-, stem of importāns, present participle of importāre “to be of consequence, weigh,” from Latin: “to carry in, import,” equivalent to im- im- 1 ( def. ) + port- port 5 ( def. ) + -ans -ant ( def. ); see import ( def. )
Explanation
If you have to pass a test to graduate, the test is important. It is vital, necessary, crucial. The President is the most important person in the country. Children are important to parents, and parents are certainly important to their children. Different people think different things are important: a new movie might be important to you because you care about it a lot, even if it's not important in the same way as food and water. People often say "Good study habits are important" or "Communication is important." Important things matter.
Vocabulary lists containing important
port
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: port
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The Language of the Test, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He adds: "They're not thinking about that, they're just thinking 'oh we can have Justin Bieber on stage' but Messi's in a World Cup final - I think he's slightly more important."
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
But he also wrote in the Times: "Our relationship with the US will remain critical as our most important defence and security ally."
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
It’s also important to be aware of the potential for higher Medicare premiums.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
“What’s important is that it doesn’t replace the physical play. You want the technology to animate the player and to be shareable. If the Smart Play technology achieves that, it’ll be very sustainable.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
But she was an important person in the community, and I wanted to show her that I was doing something.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.