Moreover, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has defined independence so narrowly that it is almost meaningless.

ECONOMIST: Campaign finance

Indeed, over much of the Sahara, rainfall is so slight and irregular as to make any average figure almost meaningless.

BBC: Libya

Labour described the Plaid proposals as a "fantasy wish-list, centred on a 30% pension increase" which "ignored fiscal and political realities to such an extent that it made the speech almost meaningless".

BBC: Plaid's 'living pension' promise

The departments that defined agency disciplines a generation ago (account management, media, public relations, research) have themselves been divided into so many specialties and subspecialties as to make their original labels almost meaningless.

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"That last shot is almost meaningless, " he said.

CNN: Computer model says UNC will win tournament

Members of the California lab that I know have repeatedly told me that the standards adopted by their state are almost meaningless and at one point they refused to take part in the standards process because it was a sell-out to the gun lobby and failed to protect against improper access to guns.

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That left five teams to clock up a series of times which were rendered almost completely meaningless by the adverse conditions.

BBC: F1 teams face testing times

The whole issue was almost unbelievably meaningless and small.

NEWYORKER: Wiggle Room