irrelevant

[ ih-rel-uh-vuhnt ]

adjective

1. not relevant; not applicable or pertinent:

   His lectures often stray to interesting but irrelevant subjects.

2. Law. (of evidence) having no probative value upon any issue in the case.

irrelevant

/ ɪˈrɛləvənt /

adjective

1. not relating or pertinent to the matter at hand; not important

Pronunciation Note

The pronunciation of irrelevant [ih-, rel, -, uh, -v, uh, nt], as [ih-, rev, -, uh, -l, uh, nt], as if spelled irrevelant, is the result of metathesis, the transposition of two sounds, in this case, the [l] and the [v]. Relevant, the base word, is occasionally subject to the same process. Analogy with words like prevalent and equivalent may play a role. A similar reordering of the [l] and [v] consonant sounds, althought not a strict one-to-one metathesis, can be heard for Calvary [kal, -v, uh, -ree] when pronounced [kav, -, uh, l-ree]. Here the transposition is reinforced by the existence of the familiar word cavalry.

Derived Forms

• irˈrelevance, noun
• irˈrelevantly, adverb

Other Words From

• ir·rele·vant·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of irrelevant¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

In a post on social media, he said it was "irrelevant" that appointment numbers were down and repeated his concerns that people linked to party donations had been given government jobs.

From BBC

“When I first got into this industry, they said women over 40 are considered irrelevant or they won’t work, especially if you’re a Black woman,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

What somebody does or doesn’t do is irrelevant.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, increasing numbers of Americans have a media diet that is mostly a bunch of lies, conspiracy theories, irrelevant diatribes and other such bunkum that right-wing propagandists use to deceive people.

From Salon

A September analysis from The New York Times found Harris’ and Trump’s rallies drew similar crowd sizes, though experts told the newspaper that rally size is irrelevant to the outcome of an election.

From Salon

Related Words

• extraneous
• immaterial
• inappropriate
• inconsequential
• insignificant
• pointless
• trivial
• unimportant
• unnecessary
• unrelated