significantly

Meanings

1. 1adverbnot comparable

   By a large enough amount to be noticeable or to matter.

   Grammar: Goes before comparative adjectives and verbs of change: significantly higher, rose significantly.

   Patterns

   • significantly higher
   • significantly reduce something
   • differ significantly

   Prices have risen significantly since last spring.

   The new design is significantly lighter than the old one.

   Her test scores improved significantly after she started studying with a tutor.

2. 2adverbnot comparable

   In a way that has a special meaning or importance, often introducing a key fact.

   Grammar: Often placed at the start of a sentence with a comma: Significantly, no one objected.

   Patterns

   • Significantly, ...

   Significantly, the report never mentions the earlier complaints.

   He was absent from the meeting and, significantly, no one mentioned his name.

   The two samples were taken from the same site but, significantly, only one contained the toxin.

3. 3adverbnot comparabletechnical

   In statistics, to a degree unlikely to be caused by chance alone.

   Grammar: Used in research writing: significantly different at the five percent level.

   Patterns

   • significantly different
   • significantly correlated

   The two groups did not differ significantly in their average height.

   The drug significantly reduced symptoms compared with the placebo.

   Smokers were significantly more likely to report the problem.

Common combinations

significantly higher

Rents here are significantly higher than in the next town.

significantly reduce

Regular exercise can significantly reduce your risk of illness.

differ significantly

The two reports differ significantly in their conclusions.

improve significantly

His health improved significantly over the summer.

significantly affect

Weather can significantly affect crop yields.

Synonyms and how they differ

considerably

Considerably stresses a large amount and sounds slightly less technical, while significantly suggests the change matters.

substantially

Substantially is about size or weight of change, and is common in business writing, whereas significantly also carries a flavor of importance.

markedly

Markedly emphasizes that a difference is easy to see, while significantly emphasizes its importance.

notably

Notably often points out a particular example that deserves attention, rather than measuring a degree of change.

Opposites

Word family

significant adjective

large or important enough to be noticed

significance noun

importance or meaning

signify verb

to mean or indicate something

insignificant adjective

too small or unimportant to matter

Commonly confused: significantly or considerably?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “significantly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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