EN

Synonyms for irrelevant

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Inapplicable — not relevant, as, Not usefully related, not associated in any way that is important or useful to the context…

inapplicable, immaterial, unimportant, moot US, tangential, inapposite, extraneous, inapt, unsuitable, incidental, orthogonal, unapt, unfit, impertinent dated

2. Unrelated — not relevant, as, Not at all related, totally unrelated, wholly unconnected, completely inapplicable

unrelated, alien, foreign formal, random, unassociated, uncorrelated, desultory, remote, stochastic, unconnected

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Not relevant, as: Not at all related: totally unrelated, wholly unconnected, completely inapplicable.

  2. adj. 2

    Not relevant, as: Not usefully related: not associated in any way that is important or useful to the context being discussed: not materially applicable; having connections not applicable in the present situation.

Related words

Word family
irrelevance irrelevancy
Is a kind of
unconnected

Choose the right word

Irrelevant, Impertinent or Inappropriate?

Impertinent and irrelevant matters can not claim consideration in a certain connection; inappropriate matters could not properly be considered.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • unimportant This detail is unimportant. You can safely omit it.
  • immaterial Age is immaterial, unless you're a bottle of wine.
  • tangential The liquid flow submits the container to what we call tangential stress.
  • inapplicable This article of the constitution was declared inapplicable.
  • random Tom opened the book at random and started reading.
  • unrelated Most of my sentences are unrelated to anything here.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
irrelevantsteady
unimportantfalling
immaterialfalling
tangentialfalling
inapplicablefalling
randomsteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
moot1
5 letters
alien3, unfit2, inapt, unapt
6 letters
random2, remote2, otiose3
7 letters
foreign2, expired2
9 letters
unrelated4, desultory4
10 letters
unsuitable4, incidental4, stochastic3, orthogonal4, immaterial5, extraneous4, tangential3, inapposite, irrelative
11 letters
unimportant4, unconnected4, impertinent4
12 letters
inapplicable5, uncorrelated, unassociated

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (alien3 = 3 syllables).