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meaningful

meaningful

327 3.3
Something that has a clear purpose or that is important
  • adjective
  • /ˈmiːnɪŋfəl/
translation icon : significativo
  • The teacher wants her lessons to be meaningful and relevant to students' lives.
  • a meaningful experience
  • a meaningful difference
  • meaningful relationships

That's what I think a meaningful life is.

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Examples

  • There will be ample time for a more meaningful visit in the week to come.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • What is a satisfying and meaningful way of living for that person?

  • And it's among the most meaningful experiences of your life.

  • Their life was better and more meaningful than the other two groups.

  • And it turns out that there are meaningful ways to address that.

  • And did you two have a meaningful relationship?

  • Memories are organized around what is meaningful and important to the individual.

    Academic text (2011)
  • We have an obligation to promote meaningful changes in the real world.

  • Now you're creating content that is meaningful to your customer.

  • They're all striving to live a meaningful life with less.

Synonyms

important
vsmeaningful
1.0

A person or thing that matters a lot

places emphasis on clear purpose or meaning rather than broad consequence
significant
vsmeaningful
2.5

Important and big enough to make a difference

is about having a clear purpose rather than only being noticeable
crucial
vsmeaningful
469 3.6

Very important for the success or result of something

is less about being decisive and more about having clear purpose
worthwhile
vsmeaningful
184 3.5

An activity that is good to do because it gives useful or important results

is about clear purpose or importance rather than cost versus benefit
substantive
vsmeaningful
  • Formal
88 6.3

Important and having real meaning or value

focuses more on clear purpose or meaning than on material weight
momentous
vsmeaningful
  • Formal
46 7.0

Important because it changes what happens next

focuses on clear purpose or meaning rather than large future consequences
noteworthy
vsmeaningful
37 4.2

Worth paying attention to because it is important or interesting

stresses clear purpose or meaning rather than just attracting notice
substantial
vsmeaningful
7 5.0

About the main, basic part of something

is about having a clear purpose or significance, not only core focus

Antonyms

226 5.1

Having no meaning, value, or purpose

104 4.1

Not important or too small to matter

How Meaningful

momentous
  • Formal
46 7.0
significant
2.5
meaningful
327 3.3
trivial
121 3.9
meaningless
226 5.1

Surface Forms

meaningful positive
meaningfulness positive

Morphology

meaningful = meaning (transparent) = mean + ing + ful

The word is transparently built from 'meaning' plus the suffix '-ful', giving the sense 'full of meaning' or 'significant'.

Etymology

The word meaningful comes from the word meaning ('what something means') and the ending -ful ('full of'), so something meaningful is 'full of meaning' and has a clear purpose or importance.