irrelevant

adjective

ir·​rel·​e·​vant i-ˈre-lə-vənt 

: not relevant : inapplicable

that statement is irrelevant to your argument

irrelevantly adverb

Synonyms

• extraneous
• immaterial
• impertinent
• inapplicable
• inapposite
• irrelative

Examples of irrelevant in a Sentence

His comment is completely irrelevant.

irrelevant questions that merely disrupted the classroom lesson

Recent Examples on the Web

Utilitarianism has died a rough death in the content mines, because views equal money, and if the pursuit of views is unchecked by ethics, then other people’s privacy becomes irrelevant. —Kelsey McKinney, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2025

In the end, all the pre-festival chatter is pretty irrelevant, mind. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2025

The rise of the Third Reich, many believed, was driven by economics and politics; ideas were irrelevant. —Clay Risen, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2025

Chiefs haters will cry out that total penalty numbers are irrelevant, because the refs’ bias truly shows in the game’s most important moments. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

irrelevant

adjective

ir·​rel·​e·​vant (ˈ)ir-ˈ(r)el-ə-vənt 

: not relevant : not applicable or pertinent

the evidence presented was judged irrelevant to the case

irrelevance

-vən(t)s

noun

or irrelevancy

-vən-sē

irrelevantly adverb

Legal Definition

irrelevant

adjective

ir·​rel·​e·​vant ir-ˈre-lə-vənt 

: not relevant : not applicable or pertinent

irrelevant allegations

irrelevant evidence

compare immaterial

irrelevantly adverb