What does important mean?

Definitions for important
ɪmˈpɔr tntim·por·tant

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word important.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. important, of importadjective

    of great significance or value

    "important people"; "the important questions of the day"

  2. significant, importantadjective

    important in effect or meaning

    "a significant change in tax laws"; "a significant change in the Constitution"; "a significant contribution"; "significant details"; "statistically significant"

  3. crucial, importantadjective

    of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis

    "a crucial moment in his career"; "a crucial election"; "a crucial issue for women"

  4. authoritative, importantadjective

    having authority or ascendancy or influence

    "an important official"; "the captain's authoritative manner"

  5. importantadjective

    having or suggesting a consciousness of high position

    "recited the decree with an important air"; "took long important strides in the direction of his office"

Wiktionary

  1. importantadjective

    Having relevant and crucial value.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Importantadjective

    Etymology: important, French.

    The most important and pressing care of a new and vigorous king was his marriage, for mediate establishment of the royal line. Henry Wotton.

    This superadds treachery to the crime: 'tis the falsifying the most important trust. Decay of Piety.

    O then, what interest shall I make
    To save my last important stake,
    When the most just have cause to quake. Wentworth Dillon.

    The great important end that God designs it for, the government of mankind, sufficiently shews the necessity of its being rooted deep in the heart, and put beyond the danger of being torn up by any ordinary violence. South.

    Examine how the fashionable practice of the world can be reconciled to the important doctrine of our religion. John Rogers.

    Important truths still let your fables hold,
    And moral mysteries with art unfold. George Granville.

    Th' important hour had pass'd unheeded by. Irene.

    He fiercely at him flew,
    And with important outrage him assail'd;
    Who soon prepar'd to field, his sword forth drew,
    And him with equal value countervail'd. Fairy Queen.

    Great France
    My mourning and important tears hath pitied. William Shakespeare.

Wikipedia

  1. important

    Importance is a property of entities that matter or make a difference. For example, World War II was an important event and Albert Einstein was an important person because of how they affected the world. There are disagreements in the academic literature about what type of difference is required. According to the causal impact view, something is important if it has a big causal impact on the world. This view is rejected by various theorists, who insist that an additional aspect is required: that the impact in question makes a value difference. This is often understood in terms of how the important thing affects the well-being of people. So on this view, World War II was important, not just because it brought about many wide-ranging changes but because these changes had severe negative impacts on the well-being of the people involved. The difference in question is usually understood counterfactually as the contrast between how the world actually is and how the world would have been without the existence of the important entity. It is often argued that importance claims are context- or domain-dependent. This means that they either explicitly or implicitly assume a certain domain in relation to which something matters. For example, studying for an exam is important in the context of academic success but not in the context of world history. Importance comes in degrees: to be important usually means to matter more within the domain in question than most of the other entities within this domain. The term "importance" is often used in overlapping ways with various related terms, such as "meaningfulness", "value", and "caring". Theorists frequently try to elucidate these terms by comparing them to show what they have in common and how they differ. A meaningful life is usually also important in some sense. But meaningfulness has additional requirements: the life should be guided by the agent's intention and directed at realizing some form of higher purpose. In some contexts, to say that something is important means the same as saying that it is valuable. More generally, however, importance refers not to value itself but to a value difference. This difference may also be negative: some events are important because they have very bad consequences. Importance is often treated as an objective feature in contrast to the subjective attitude of caring about something or ascribing importance to it. Ideally, the two overlap: people subjectively care about things that are objectively important. Nonetheless, the two may come apart when people care about unimportant things or fail to care about important things. Some theorists distinguish between instrumental importance relative to a specific goal in contrast to a form of importance based on intrinsic or final value. A closely related distinction is between importance relative to someone and absolute or unrestricted importance. The concept of importance is central to numerous fields and issues. Many people desire to be important or to lead an important life. It has been argued that this is not always a good goal since it can also be realized in a negative way: by causing a lot of harm and thereby making an important but negative value difference. Common desires that are closely related include wanting power, wealth, and fame. In the realm of ethics, the importance of something often determines how one should act towards this thing, for example, by paying attention to it or by protecting it. In this regard, importance is a normative property, meaning that importance claims constitute reasons for actions, emotions, and other attitudes. On a psychological level, considerations of the relative importance of the aspects of a situation help the individual simplify its complexity by only focusing on its most significant features. A central discussion in the context of the meaning of life concerns the question of whether human life is important on the cosmic level. Nihilists and absurdists usually give a negative response to this question. This pessimistic outlook can in some cases cause an existential crisis. In the field of artificial intelligence, implementing artificial reasoning to assess the importance of information poses a significant challenge when trying to deal with the complexity of real-world situations.

ChatGPT

  1. important

    Important can be defined as having significance, value, or relevance. It refers to something or someone that has a notable impact or influence, often considered essential or necessary for a particular purpose or outcome. Importance can vary depending on context, as something important in one situation may not hold the same level of significance in another.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Importantverb

    full of, or burdened by, import; charged with great interests; restless; anxious

  2. Importantverb

    carrying or possessing weight or consequence; of valuable content or bearing; significant; weighty

  3. Importantverb

    bearing on; forcible; driving

  4. Importantverb

    importunate; pressing; urgent

Editors Contribution

  1. important

    Data, facts, information, research or statistics a person, business, form of unity government, group or organization is made aware of.

    The new training dates were posted on the website and emailed to all athletes as some had changed and it was important they were communicated and seen.


    Submitted by MaryC on May 19, 2016  


  2. important

    Information communicated that requires action or attention.

    The government ensured the new tax rules were communicated across the media and emailed to all registered business and individuals as they were important.


    Submitted by MaryC on May 19, 2016  


  3. important

    The well-being of a person we love.

    We place the important value of every human being on planet earth.


    Submitted by MaryC on April 26, 2020  

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'important' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #212

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'important' in Written Corpus Frequency: #338

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'important' in Adjectives Frequency: #12

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce important?

How to say important in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of important in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of important in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of important in a Sentence

  1. Albert Einstein:

    The first and most important necessity is the creation of a modus vivendi with the Arab people.

  2. Julian Mulvey:

    The Special Counsel has asked Tad Devine to appear and testify about media consulting work on past political campaigns in Ukraine, we are happy to assist in the important fact-finding work of this investigation to achieve justice and protect our democracy.

  3. Global Wildlife Conservation:

    Guyana is one of the world’s most important countries for biodiversity conservation with the second highest percentage of forest cover on Earth, high levels of biological diversity and species that are found nowhere else, historically Guyana’s biodiversity was naturally protected due to low human population density and the fact that much of the country was inaccessible.

  4. Bobby Leddy:

    The energy supply constraints resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the increased prices created by big oil companies has highlighted how important it is to ensure that Michigan is not overreliant on one source and has energy independence to protect Michiganders’ pocketbooks and our state’s economic security, that’s why we are moving forward to diversify our state’s energy options, which will significantly expand jobs and economic investment in our state.

  5. Peter Shumlin:

    I am not going to undermine the hope of achieving critically important health care reforms for this state by pushing prematurely for single payer when it is not the right time for Vermont, in my judgment, now is not the right time to ask our legislature to take the step of passing a financing plan for Green Mountain Care.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

important#1#573#10000

Translations for important

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"important." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/important>.

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    superiority in power or influence
    A callathump
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