immaterial to (someone)
- idiom
- /ˌɪməˈtɪriəl tu/
:
irrelevante para
- Whether the meeting is at 10 or 11 is immaterial to me since I can't attend either time.
Examples
-
Your personal preference is immaterial to this decision; we must follow company policy.
-
The manager's explanation was immaterial to the outcome of the negotiation.
-
The details of the presentation were immaterial to the final decision made by the board.
-
Her feelings about the project are immaterial to the timeline we have to meet.
-
The color of the walls is immaterial to our plans for the new office layout.
Synonyms
355
3.6
Not related to the subject people are discussing or to the main point
226
5.1
Having no meaning, value, or purpose
121
3.9
Not important or serious
104
4.1
Not important or too small to matter
54
1.9
Not worth attention or notice
32
4.2
Not related to the subject or situation
31
5.6
Very small or unimportant and not worth worrying about
29
7.7
Not important and not likely to make a difference
19
7.2
Not important or relevant to a situation
11
4.4
Not needed for something to work or be successful
1
5.0
Not needed for the main purpose
Not related to what is being discussed
Not important or worth worrying about
Antonyms
How Relevant
Surface Forms
Morphology
immaterial + to + (someone)
The adjective 'immaterial' already means 'without importance', and the prepositional complement 'to (someone)' simply marks the affected person, so the overall meaning ('not relevant to a particular person') is directly derivable from the constituents. This follows a standard adjective + prepositional pattern found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both parts would readily understand the phrase (despite 'immaterial' being somewhat formal).
Etymology
Immaterial to comes from the word material, which used to mean 'important facts', and the little bit im- adds the idea 'not'. Imagine a small detail that does not change the result; that detail is 'not important' or immaterial to someone.