Cool MateMeaningful vs That's significant
When to use each in English, with meaning, register, and examples.
Meaningful
Top 2,000 (common)C1adjective
That's significant
Top 2,000 (common)
| Meaningful | That's significant | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | 🇬🇧 /["/ˈmiːnɪŋfl/"]/🇺🇸 /["/ˈmiːnɪŋfl/"]/ | 🇬🇧 //ðæts sɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt//🇺🇸 //ðæts sɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt// |
| Meaning | full of meaning or importance | That is important or meaningful. |
| Example | a **meaningful relationship/discussion/experience** | This discovery is significant for our understanding of history. |
| Register | Neutral | Neutral |
| How common | Top 2,000 (common) | Top 2,000 (common) |
| CEFR level | C1 | - |
| Part of speech | adjective | |
| Collocations | meaningful conversation, meaningful life, meaningful impact, meaningful connections | significant impact, significant change, significant improvement, significant difference, significant findings |
| Antonyms | meaningless, insignificant, trivial | - |
| Common mistakes | Confused with 'meaningless', Incorrectly used to describe physical objects rather than experiences or relationships, Used with an incorrect noun, e.g., saying 'meaningful meeting' instead of 'meaningful conclusions' | Confused with 'significance' - remember it's an expression, not a noun., Overusing in casual conversations; better for important topics., Misplacing emphasis; should stress 'significant' rather than 'that'. |
| Usage notes | Use 'meaningful' in contexts where you want to describe something that has depth or importance. Avoid it in casual conversations that focus on trivial matters. | Use in contexts where you want to emphasize importance or relevance. Neutral register makes it suitable for both informal and formal discussions. |
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Frequently asked questions: Meaningful vs That's significant
What's the difference between Meaningful and That's significant?
Meaningful: full of meaning or importance That's significant: That is important or meaningful.
Can you show an example of each?
Meaningful: a **meaningful relationship/discussion/experience** That's significant: This discovery is significant for our understanding of history.
Can I use Meaningful and That's significant interchangeably?
Not always. Meaningful and That's significant are related and overlap in some contexts, but they differ in register, how common they are, and usage, so swapping one for another can change the meaning or tone. Check the differences above before substituting.