Negligible for Dummies

Negligible is a word we use to describe something that is so small or unimportant that it can be easily overlooked or disregarded. It's like when you have a tiny speck of dust on your desk— it's so tiny that you might not even notice it, or if you do, you might not think it's important enough to do anything about it. That speck of dust is negligible, meaning it doesn't really matter in the big picture.

Now, let me give you a couple of examples to help you understand this word better. Imagine you're walking down the street and you see a big container filled with colorful candies. You reach out and grab a handful of candies, but one of them slips out of your hand and falls on the ground. This candy is now negligible because it's just one piece out of many. It's not worth getting upset about or trying to pick it up, right?

Another example is when you're baking cookies and you accidentally spill a few sprinkles on the counter. Those sprinkles are negligible because they are such a small amount compared to the entire batch of cookies you're making. You can easily brush them off without affecting the final taste or appearance of the cookies.

Now, it's important to know that "negligible" can also mean something that is insignificant or not worth considering in a different context. For instance, let's say you're looking at a math problem with a long list of numbers, and out of those numbers, only one or two are small compared to the others. Those small numbers can be considered negligible because they have little impact on the overall result or calculation.

So, in summary, when something is negligible, it means that it's so small, unimportant, or insignificant that it can be easily ignored, overlooked, or disregarded. It's like a tiny speck of dust, a single dropped candy, a few stray sprinkles, or even a small number in a long list of numbers.