substance
//ˈsʌbstəns//
Forms
- Plural
- substances
Definitions
1.Physical matter; material.
- His wasted hands were stretched out, and worked with a quick and convulsive motion, as if catching some small substances which kept eluding their grasp;...
- 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.
2.The essential part of anything; the most vital part.
- Heroic virtue did his actions guide, / And he the substance, not the appearance, chose.
- It is insolent in words, in manner; but in substance it is not only insulting, but alarming.
3.Substantiality; solidity; firmness.
- Some textile fabrics have little substance.
4.Material possessions; estate; property; resources.
- And there wasted his substance with riotous living.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2409
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Etymology
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.