immaterial
Americanadjective
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of no essential consequence; unimportant.
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not pertinent; irrelevant.
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not material; incorporeal; spiritual.
adjective
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of no real importance; inconsequential
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not formed of matter; incorporeal; spiritual
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of immaterial
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word immāteriālis. See im- 2, material
Explanation
Things that are immaterial have no physical form (like a ghost) or are unimportant (like most ghost stories). Something that’s material has substance, right? You can touch it or it's important. So the opposite is the word immaterial, which means something that doesn't matter, or has no physical substance, or which adds nothing to the subject at hand. This word is heard a lot in court, where "It's immaterial!" dismisses evidence or testimony as meaningless or beside the point. You could say the wind is literally immaterial, though windiness is not immaterial if you’re going kiting.
Vocabulary lists containing immaterial
The Catcher in the Rye
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All Quiet on the Western Front
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Never Mind: Synonyms for "Meaningless"
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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.
Un-Insides solidifies again with Immaterial, a snappy pop anthem seemingly dedicated to legions of “immaterial girls” and “immaterial boys”.
From The Guardian • Apr. 7, 2020
But we're completing the trilogy, and The Immaterial Girl uses music videos as a way to talk about self-image and identity.
From The Guardian • Jan. 18, 2013
His sales of "Zones of Immaterial Sensibility" left art collectors holding nothing but a memory.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 25, 2011
Immaterial waves need not be tangled up with matter at all.
From Time Magazine Archive
Immaterial, im-a-tē′ri-al, adj. not consisting of matter: incorporeal: unimportant.—v.t.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
