noun
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the state or quality of being physical or material
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substance; matter
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of materiality
From the Medieval Latin word māteriālitās, dating back to 1520–30. See material, -ity
Explanation
Materiality is the quality of a physical substance that you can actually feel. Seeing a fluffy beanbag chair online is one thing, but in-person, you can appreciate its materiality. Materiality is a complicated word with several definitions. One way to think of it is as "the quality of consisting of matter." Architects talk about the materiality of actual buildings constructed with materials (rather than images rendered on a computer). When anthropologists discuss the materiality of artifacts, they're talking about their physical properties. In law, on the other hand, materiality means "relevance" or "importance" — in other words, how much something matters.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"What we're seeing is that brutal materiality is still important," says Alexander RE Taylor, senior lecturer in communications at the University of Exeter.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The artist’s eponymous 2025 sculpture, crowned with an array of Bantu knots, ties the entire show together, joining materiality, traditional cultural identity, and the outward-looking nature of the exhibition in a single work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Alys and Helaena fulfill their truest purpose outside the confines of mind and materiality, using the heart tree of Harrenhal's godswood.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
Now, materiality in general is the principal through-line defining hugely diverse work made by the show’s 39 artists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2023
This is a strong argument for the materiality of light.
From Heads of Lectures on a Course of Experimental Philosophy: Particularly Including Chemistry by Joseph Priestley
This very mental heaviness, holding him down to materialities, kept his contemplation of contingencies from becoming bewildering.
From Never-Fail Blake by Arthur Stringer
The arc of descent ends in materialities, and the arc of ascent ends in spiritualities.
From Some Answered Questions by `Abdu'l-Bahá
Suzanna stood a long time at the window, so long indeed that Maizie feared she was lost to all materialities.
From Suzanna Stirs the Fire by Emily Calvin Blake
Abner accepted his environment; after all, he might force the conversation to soar far above the mere materialities.
From Under the Skylights by Henry Blake Fuller
His New Year's message to the Legislature opened with a businesslike discussion of the State's finances and other materialities.
From The Negro and the Nation A History of American Slavery and Enfranchisement by George Spring Merriam
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
