substance
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substance
- /ˈsʌbstəns/ US
- [ˈsʌbstənts] US
Rhymes with -ʌbstəns
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English substance, from Old French substance, from Latin substantia (“substance, essence”), from substāns, present active participle of substō (“exist”, literally “stand under”), from sub + stō (“stand”). Displaced native Old English andweorc.
noun substances · substaunce
- Physical matter; material. Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
- A form of matter that has constant chemical composition and characteristic properties.
- The essential part of anything; the most vital part. Heroic virtue did his actions guide, / And he the substance, not the appearance, chose.
- Substantiality; solidity; firmness. Some textile fabrics have little substance.
- Material possessions; estate; property; resources. a man of substance
- Drugs (illegal narcotics) substance abuse
- Ousia, essence; underlying reality or hypostasis in the philosophical sense.
Similar: corporeity, body, mass, material, matter, stuff, substance · Opposite: nothing, vacuum, void, energy, force, heat, light, power, ego, dream, mind, personality, phantom, shadow, soul, spirit
verb substances · substancing · substanced · substaunce
- To give substance to; to make real or substantial. If life were nothing but what gets phrased and substanced, the world might as well be rolled up and laid away again in darkness.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: essence, nitty-gritty, inwardness, gist, subject matter, meaning, sense, sum, content, message, center, kernel, means, matter, heart, marrow
Translations
Every language
noun physical matter; material — see also matter
| Español | sustancia, substancia |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 물질 muljil |
| 日本語 | 物質 busshitsu |
| 中文 | 物質 /物质 wùzhì |
| हिन्दी | पदार्थ padārth, वस्तु vastu |
| Português | substância |
| Français | substance |
| Deutsch | Substanz, Stoff |
| Italiano | sostanza |
| Ελληνικά | ουσία ousía |
| Română | substanță |
| Русский | вещество́ veščestvó, субста́нция substáncija, мате́рия matérija |
| Tiếng Việt | vật chất |
| العربية | مَادَّة mādda |
| עברית | חומר \ חֹמֶר khómer |
noun a form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties
| हिन्दी | पदार्थ padārth |
|---|
noun essential part
| Español | sustancia, substancia |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 본질 bonjil, 실질 siljil |
| 日本語 | 骨子 kosshi |
| 中文 | 實質 /实质 shízhì |
| हिन्दी | विषय वस्तु viṣay vastu |
| Português | substância |
| Français | substance, fond |
| Deutsch | Substanz |
| Ελληνικά | ουσία ousía |
| Română | substanță |
| Русский | су́щность súščnostʹ |
| עברית | תוכן tókhen |
noun material possessions
| Español | sustancia, substancia |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 자산 jasan, 재산 jaesan |
| 中文 | 資產 /资产 zīchǎn, 財產 /财产 cáichǎn |
| हिन्दी | संपत्ति sampatti, सम्पत्ति sampatti, संपदा sampdā |
| Português | riqueza |
| Français | biens |
| Deutsch | Substanz |
| Ελληνικά | περιουσία periousía |
| Română | substanță |
| Русский | вес ves |
noun drugs
| 한국어 | 마약 mayak |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 物質 /物质 wùzhì, 毒品 dúpǐn |
| हिन्दी | मादक पदार्थ mādak padārth |
| Português | substância |
| Deutsch | Substanz |
| Ελληνικά | ουσίες ousíes |
| Română | drog, narcotic |
| Русский | вещество́ veščestvó |
Talk about this word "substance." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/substance. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. substance. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/substance "substance." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/substance.Cite this
@misc{substance_2026,
title = {substance},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/substance},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
