Försumbara

Försumbara is a Swedish adjective meaning negligible, trifling, or of little significance. It is used primarily in formal, technical, or administrative language to indicate that a quantity, effect, or difference is so small that it can be disregarded in analysis or decision making. In everyday conversation the term is relatively rare, and synonyms such as obetydlig or liten are more common.

Etymology and usage notes: The word is formed in a way that conveys diminutive importance, often in contexts where precise assessment is required. It commonly appears with nouns like belopp (amount), skillnad (difference), or påverkan (impact): försumbara belopp, försumbara skillnader, försumbara påverkan. The adverbial form försumbart is used to modify statements about size or impact, as in försumbart liten skillnad.

Common usage and nuance: Försumbara emphasizes that something is small enough to be practically ignored in a given setting, such as budgeting, statistics, or risk assessment. It is not a casual synonym for “small” but a term signaling that the effect or amount falls below a threshold of importance in a specified context. It should be distinguished from stronger terms like obetydlig or betydande, which carry a clearer threshold of significance.

Examples:

- Skillnaden mellan resultaten var försumbart liten.

- Ett försumbart belopp togs bort ur budgeten.

Synonyms and related terms include obetydlig and insignifikant, while antonyms include betydande and väsentlig. The term is linked to formal writing, such as reports, audits, and academic texts, rather than everyday speech.