insubstantial
[in-suh b-stan-shuh l]
- not substantial or real; lacking substance: an insubstantial world of dreams.
- not solid or firm; weak; flimsy.
- not substantial in amount or size; inconsiderable: an insubstantial sum.
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Origin of insubstantial
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for insubstantial
Contemporary Examples
His aspect was as insubstantial as fog, dreams, or an expelled breath, and in this he resembled billions of human beings.
3 Must-Read Offbeat Novels: ‘A Million Heavens,’ ‘The Investigation,’ ‘Office Girl’Drew Toal, Kevin Canfield, Daniel Roberts
July 6, 2012
After a brief market rally on Monday, confidence was snuffed out as traders reckoned the support was insubstantial.
Insubstantial novelty has more to do with decadence than any form of innovation.
Historical Examples
There were things, vague and insubstantial, which he could not understand.
The ShadowArthur Stringer
From it rose the towers and high-peaked roofs of the city, insubstantial as a dream.
The Path of the KingJohn Buchan
So feeble and insubstantial did he feel himself that he repeated the word aloud.
Night and DayVirginia Woolf
The beyond is vague and insubstantial, but it is instinct with life and purpose.
Nature MysticismJ. Edward Mercer
Shuddering, insubstantial, but luminously apparent, I stood there before them.
Famous Modern Ghost StoriesVarious
insubstantial
- not substantial; flimsy, tenuous, or slight
- imaginary; unreal
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for insubstantial
adj.
c.1600, from Medieval Latin insubstantialis, from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + substantialis (see substantial). Related: Insubstantially.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper