adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fl̩/
UK:[ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fl̩]
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Canada, US:/ˈmi.nɪŋ.fl̩/
Canada, US:[ˈmi.nɪŋ.fl̩]
Australian:/ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fʊl/
Australian:[ˈmɪi.nɪŋ.fl̩]
CMU ARPABET:M IY1 N IH0 NG F AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Having meaning, significant.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
I think we made a meaningful contribution to this project today.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Full of implication; heavy with unstated meaning.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
"So you enjoyed yourself, did you," she said, with a meaningful smile.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adjective
Meaning 3
having a meaning or purpose
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a meaningful explanation
a meaningful discussion
a meaningful pause
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: meaningless
History
Etymology
From meaning + -ful.
Across languages
Translations
55 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
смислен
(smislen)
— having meaning, significant
Bulgarian:
съдържателен
(sǎdǎržatelen)
— having meaning, significant
Catalan:
significatiu
— having meaning, significant
Chinese Mandarin:
有意義 /有意义
(yǒu yìyì)
— having meaning, significant
Czech:
smysluplný
— having meaning, significant
Dutch:
zinvol
— having meaning, significant
Esperanto:
senchava
— having meaning, significant
Esperanto:
signifa
— having meaning, significant
Finnish:
merkittävä
— having meaning, significant
Finnish:
merkityksellinen
— having meaning, significant
French:
significatif
— having meaning, significant
French:
qui a du sens
— having meaning, significant
Galician:
significativo
— having meaning, significant
German:
bedeutend
— having meaning, significant
German:
bedeutungsvoll
— having meaning, significant
German:
sinnhaft
— having meaning, significant
Hindi:
सार्थक
(sārthak)
— having meaning, significant
Hindi:
अर्थपूर्ण
(arthapūrṇ)
— having meaning, significant
Hungarian:
kifejező
— having meaning, significant
Indonesian:
berarti
— having meaning, significant
Interlingua:
significante
— having meaning, significant
Italian:
significativo
— having meaning, significant
Italian:
sensato
— having meaning, significant
Italian:
efficace
— having meaning, significant
Italian:
costruttivo
— having meaning, significant
Japanese:
有意義な
(yūigi-na)
— having meaning, significant
Korean:
유의미(有意味)하다
(yuuimihada)
— having meaning, significant
Latvian:
jēdzīgs
— having meaning, significant
Latvian:
nozīmīgs
— having meaning, significant
Lithuanian:
prasmingas
— having meaning, significant
Macedonian:
зна́чаен
(znáčaen)
— having meaning, significant
Māori:
whaitikanga
— having meaning, significant
Norwegian Bokmål:
meningsfull
— having meaning, significant
Norwegian Bokmål:
meiningsfull
— having meaning, significant
Norwegian Bokmål:
meningsfylt
— having meaning, significant
Norwegian Bokmål:
meiningsfylt
— having meaning, significant
Norwegian Nynorsk:
meiningsfull
— having meaning, significant
Norwegian Nynorsk:
meiningsfylt
— having meaning, significant
Polish:
znaczący
— having meaning, significant
Polish:
znaczny
— having meaning, significant
Portuguese:
significativo
— having meaning, significant
Romanian:
semnificativ
— having meaning, significant
Russian:
зна́чимый
(znáčimyj)
— having meaning, significant
Serbo-Croatian:
smislen
— having meaning, significant
Spanish:
significativo
— having meaning, significant
Swedish:
meningsfull
— having meaning, significant
Swedish:
betydelsefull
— having meaning, significant
Telugu:
అర్థవంతమైన
(arthavantamaina)
— having meaning, significant
Turkish:
anlamlı
— having meaning, significant
Turkish:
manalı
— having meaning, significant
Turkish:
manidar
— having meaning, significant
Ottoman Turkish:
معنیدار
(manidar)
— having meaning, significant
Ukrainian:
значний
(značnyj)
— having meaning, significant
Ukrainian:
значущий
(značuščyj)
— having meaning, significant
Vietnamese:
có ý nghĩa
— having meaning, significant