substance

[ suhb-stuhns ]

/ ˈsʌb stəns /

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See synonyms for: substance / substances on Thesaurus.com

noun

that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material: form and substance.

a species of matter of definite chemical composition: a chalky substance.

controlled substance.

the subject matter of thought, discourse, study, etc.

the actual matter of a thing, as opposed to the appearance or shadow; reality.

substantial or solid character or quality: claims lacking in substance.

consistency; body: soup without much substance.

the meaning or gist, as of speech or writing.

something that has separate or independent existence.

Philosophy.

something that exists by itself and in which accidents or attributes inhere; that which receives modifications and is not itself a mode; something that is causally active; something that is more than an event.
the essential part of a thing; essence.
a thing considered as a continuing whole.

possessions, means, or wealth: to squander one's substance.

Linguistics. the articulatory or acoustic reality or the perceptual manifestation of a word or other construction (distinguished from form).

a standard of weights for paper.

OTHER WORDS FOR substance

4 theme, subject.

5 essence.

8 significance, import, pith.

See synonyms for substance on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about substance

in substance,

concerning the essentials; substantially.
actually; really: That is in substance how it appeared to me.

Origin of substance

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin substantia “substance, essence” (literally, “that which stands under, i.e., underlies”), equivalent to sub- “under, beneath” + -stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre “to stand”) + -ia noun suffix; see sub-, stand, -ia; see also -ance

synonym study for substance

1. See matter.

OTHER WORDS FROM substance

sub·stance·less, adjective

Words nearby substance

subspecies, subspecific, subspontaneous, subst., substage, substance, substance abuse, substance P, substandard, substantial, substantialism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use substance in a sentence

A judge in that case has yet to rule on most of the substance of Amazon’s lawsuit.
Oracle loses appeal in $10 billion Pentagon cloud-computing contract dispute|radmarya|September 2, 2020|Fortune
This is a substance that can give a person immunity from a disease.
Scientists Say: Vaccine|Bethany Brookshire|August 31, 2020|Science News For Students
To keep a wormhole’s throat from collapsing, some substance with negative mass must prop it open.
Could ripples in spacetime point to wormholes?|Emily Conover|August 24, 2020|Science News For Students
We believe the substance and process for this important park planning policy needs more attention and significant changes.
New Plan for City Parks Misses the Point|Deborah Sharpe, Howard Greenstein and Jeff Harkness|July 24, 2020|Voice of San Diego

These foreign invaders contain substances the body doesn’t recognize.
Explainer: What are Antibodies?|Avery Elizabeth Hurt|July 24, 2020|Science News For Students
Scalise spoke briefly, adding little of substance, saying that the people back home know him best.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Any time you put a foreign substance into anybody you have the potential for an adverse event,” Geisbert reminds.
Uh Oh: Ebola Vaccine Trials Stop|Leigh Cowart|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Those with a slightly sleazier bent have dredged up reports of his weight gain, substance abuse, and arrest.
D’Angelo’s ‘Black Messiah’ Was Worth Waiting 15 Years For|James Joiner|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
South Carolina and Alabama courts have already ruled late-pregnancy substance abuse can be considered a form of child abuse.
States Slap Pregnant Women With Harsher Jail Sentences|Emily Shire|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Things got even more serious when Cosby moved on to the subject of substance abuse and children.
When Bill Cosby N-Bombed the Congressional Black Caucus|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In withdrawing aside sorrow remaineth: and the substance of the poor is according to his heart.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Its backbone should be the study of biology and its substance should be the threshing out of the burning questions of our day.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The nature both of this substance and the antecedent substance from which it is derived is not known.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
But this paper was a very tough, fibrous substance, and would resist quite a heavy blow as well as keep out the cold.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
There has always been a mystery connected with this remarkable substance.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for substance

substance

/ (ˈsʌbstəns) /

noun

the tangible matter of which a thing consists

a specific type of matter, esp a homogeneous material with a definite composition

the essence, meaning, etc, of a written or spoken thought

solid or meaningful quality

material densitya vacuum has no substance

material possessions or wealtha man of substance

philosophy

the supposed immaterial substratum that can receive modifications and in which attributes and accidents inhere
a thing considered as a continuing whole that survives the changeability of its properties

Christian Science that which is eternal

a euphemistic term for any illegal drug

in substance with regard to the salient points

Derived forms of substance

substanceless, adjective

Word Origin for substance

C13: via Old French from Latin substantia, from substāre, from sub- + stāre to stand

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with substance

substance

see in substance; sum and substance.

substance

OTHER WORDS FOR substance

Idioms about substance

Origin of substance

synonym study for substance

OTHER WORDS FROM substance

Words nearby substance

Words related to substance

How to use substance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for substance

Derived forms of substance

Word Origin for substance

Other Idioms and Phrases with substance