What does the phrase "to factor prominently in " mean?

[What_the]

@njtt

Well, like most “synonyms” they do not mean exactly the same thing, but close enough for many purposes. “Prominently” implies it is noticeable, and “significantly” implies it is important. Often, the most noticeable aspects of something are also the most important ones (for most purposes), and vice-versa, but that is not always the case.

Thank you for not letting that snark stand.

In a thread designed to parse the phrase, I think the difs are important to note.