having a meaning or purpose
"a meaningful explanation"
"a meaningful discussion"
"a meaningful pause"
Having meaning, significant.
"The quiet moment between them was filled with a meaningful silence that spoke louder than words."
In plain English: Something is meaningful if it really matters to you and has real value beyond just being there for show.
"The gift was meaningful because she had spent hours choosing every single item inside."
The word meaningful is formed by combining the root meaning with the suffix -ful, which denotes fullness or possession of a quality. It was first used to describe something that has significance or purpose rather than being trivial.