Webster's English Dictionary

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importance

im.por.tance \im-'po.rt-*n(t)s, oftenest in South -*n(t)s\ n 1a: the 
   quality or state of being important : CONSEQUENCE  1b: an important aspect 
   or bearing : SIGNIFICANCE  obs  2: IMPORT, MEANING  obs  3: IMPORTUNITY  
   obs  4: a weighty matterMIMPORTANCE implies the power of influencing or the 
   quality of having evident value either generally or in a particular 
   relation and often by merely existing; CONSEQUENCE may imply importance in 
   social rank but more generally implies importance because of probable or 
   possible effects; MOMENT implies conspicuous or self-evident consequence; 
   WEIGHT implies a judgment of the immediate relative importance of 
   something; SIGNIFICANCE implies a quality or character that should mark a 
   thing as important but that is not self-evident and may or may not be 
   recognized SYN syn CONSEQUENCE, MOMENT, WEIGHT, SIGNIFICANCE: (