substance

American  

[suhb-stuhns] / ˈsʌb stəns /

noun

1. that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material.

   form and substance.

2. a species of matter of definite chemical composition.

   a chalky substance.

3. controlled substance.

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

   Synonyms:

   subject, theme

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

   Synonyms:

   essence

6. substantial or solid character or quality.

   claims lacking in substance.

7. consistency; body.

   soup without much substance.

8. the meaning or gist, as of speech or writing.

   Synonyms:

   pith, import, significance

9. something that has separate or independent existence.

10. Philosophy.

    1. 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.

    2. the essential part of a thing; essence.

    3. a thing considered as a continuing whole.

11. possessions, means, or wealth.

    to squander one's substance.

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

13. a standard of weights for paper.

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idioms

1. in substance,

   1. concerning the essentials; substantially.

   2. actually; really.

      That is in substance how it appeared to me.

substance British  

/ ˈsʌbstəns /

noun

1. the tangible matter of which a thing consists

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

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

4. solid or meaningful quality

5. material density

   a vacuum has no substance

6. material possessions or wealth

   a man of substance

7. 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

8. Christian Science that which is eternal

9. a euphemistic term for any illegal drug

10. with regard to the salient points

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substance More Idioms  

1. see in substance; sum and substance.

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Related Words

See matter.

Other Word Forms

• substanceless adjective

Etymology

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; sub-, stand, -ia; -ance

Example Sentences

These substances include breakdown products from carbohydrates, fats, proteins, DNA, and amines.

From Science Daily

Johnson, who has never tested positive for a banned substance, chalked up the failure to “human error.”

From The Wall Street Journal

"We are not just replacing the black hole with a dark object; we are proposing that the supermassive central object and the galaxy's dark matter halo are two manifestations of the same, continuous substance."

From Science Daily

Unlike many other shape-changing materials, this transformation does not require multiple layers or different substances.

From Science Daily

By finally choosing substance over style, stats over sentiment, the best team over the best story, I was right.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amount
• effect
• meat
• significance
• strength
• stuff
• subject