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definitions

substance

[suhb-stuhns]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR substance ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Idioms

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

Origin of substance

1250–1300; Middle English < Latin substantia substance, essence (literally, that which stands under, i.e., underlies), equivalent to sub- sub- + -stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre to stand) + -ia -ia (see -ance)
Related formssub·stance·less, adjective

Synonym study

1. See matter.

Synonyms for substance

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR substance ON THESAURUS.COM
4. theme, subject. 4, 5, 8. essence. 8. significance, import, pith.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for substance

item, material, texture, object, stuff, strength, meat, effect, amount, significance, subject, body, core, individual, phenomenon, matter, being, hunk, reality, bulk

Examples from the Web for substance

Contemporary Examples of substance

Historical Examples of substance

  • Substance of one of Lovelace's letters, of her answer, and of his reply.

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • To all appearance, the rock was as firmly fastened as any other portion of the earth's substance.

    Tanglewood Tales

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • You have the wisdom that grasps the substance and lets the shadows flit.

    Fair Margaret

    H. Rider Haggard

  • The substance of a lady's letter, it has been said, always is comprised in the postscript.

  • Till when, I will give you the substance of what I wrote him yesterday.

    Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for substance

substance

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
  1. the supposed immaterial substratum that can receive modifications and in which attributes and accidents inhere
  2. 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 Formssubstanceless, 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
Word Origin and History for substance
n.

c.1300, "essential nature," from Old French substance (12c.), from Latin substantia "being, essence, material," from substans, present participle of substare "stand firm, be under or present," from sub "up to, under" + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). A loan-translation of Greek hypostasis. Meaning "any kind of corporeal matter" is first attested mid-14c. Sense of "the matter of a study, discourse, etc." first recorded late 14c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
substance in Medicine

substance

[sŭb′stəns]

n.

That which has mass and occupies space; matter.
A material of a particular kind or constitution.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with substance

substance

see in substance; sum and substance.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.