Meaning

Physical matter; material..

Definitions by Sense

1. Physical matter; material.
2. The essential part of anything; the most vital part.
3. Substantiality; solidity; firmness.
4. Material possessions; estate; property; resources.
5. Drugs (illegal narcotics)
6. (theology, philosophy) Ousia, essence; underlying reality or hypostasis in the philosophical sense.
7. (rare, transitive) To give substance to; to make real or substantial.

Example Sentences

Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.

His wasted hands were stretched out, and worked with a quick and convulsive motion, as if catching some small substances which kept eluding their grasp;...

Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.

1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth This edition is the same in substance with the Latin.

Heroic virtue did his actions guide, / And he the substance, not the appearance, chose.

It is insolent in words, in manner; but in substance it is not only insulting, but alarming.

Some textile fabrics have little substance.

a man of substance

Word Forms

• substances
• substaunce
• substancing
• substanced

Synonyms for substance

Antonyms for substance

Related Words

When Should You Use Substance?

Use substance when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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