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immaterial

immaterial

4 7.4
Not physical and cannot be touched
  • adjective
  • /ˌɪməˈtɪriəl/
: incorpóreo
  • Humans are an immaterial soul or spirit trapped within a physical body.
  • immaterial soul
  • immaterial individuality
  • immaterial principle

We are also immaterial or even this body is immaterial.

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Examples

  • It's a trick of the mind, if it, as it were, that makes you think that you are an immaterial being inside a material body.

  • There must be something extra, something immaterial about us, the soul.

  • Often we think of the Lord today as kind of immaterial and formless.

  • If the active principle of thinking is taken as an immaterial power, then how can it be individuated?

    Academic text (2017)
  • Aristotle claims that thinking is immaterial in that it is not the actuality of matter.

    Academic text (2017)
  • As the intellect's activity, thinking is likewise incorporeal or immaterial.

    Academic text (2017)
  • We ourselves, our souls, the seats of our consciousness, are immaterial spirits allied in their nature to this immaterial True Being.

  • The concept of love is often seen as an immaterial feeling that transcends physical existence.

  • Spiritual beliefs often focus on the immaterial aspects of life, such as the soul and consciousness.

  • Many philosophers argue that ideas and thoughts are immaterial, existing beyond the physical realm.

Synonyms

intangible
vsimmaterial
22 7.2

Something that cannot be touched and is often a feeling or quality

centers on being without physical matter rather than untouchability
insubstantial
vsimmaterial
9 6.8

Not solid or strong and not filling

narrows this to absence of physical matter rather than weakness or flimsy quality
incorporeal
vsimmaterial
2 9.9

Not having a physical body or shape that you can touch

uses the same idea but stresses the general lack of matter
nonphysical
vsimmaterial
1 7.0

Not having a body you can touch or see

focuses on absence of physical substance rather than perception limits
bodiless
vsimmaterial
1 8.1

Not having a physical form, like a spirit or ghost

highlights lack of physical substance rather than bodily detail
noncorporeal
vsimmaterial
1 9.8

Without a physical body or shape

is narrower, focusing on lack of physical substance specifically
impalpable
vsimmaterial
1 9.3

Hard to feel or notice with your senses

stresses absence of physical substance rather than sensory subtlety
nonmaterial
vsimmaterial
1 7.7

Has no physical form and is about ideas or feelings

is similar but centers on not being made from physical matter
matterless
vsimmaterial
1 9.9

A thing that has no physical form and cannot be touched

highlights the same emptiness but in more general wording
unembodied
vsimmaterial
1 9.9

Not having a physical body, like a ghost

frames the same absence in general, not tied to embodiment ideas
unphysical
vsimmaterial
1 9.1

About the mind or spirit rather than the body

is more about lacking physical matter rather than being merely nonphysical
unbodied
vsimmaterial
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Not having a physical form like a ghost or spirit

focuses on absence of physical substance rather than other qualities
discorporate
vsimmaterial
  • Literature
1 9.9

A being that has no physical body like a ghost

emphasizes absence of matter rather than the notion of incarnation

Antonyms

152 3.5

Relating to physical things or possessions, not spiritual

corporeal
  • Formal
18 8.4

Relating to the physical body rather than the spirit

Idioms

A fact or detail that does not matter to someone

How Physical

material
152 3.5
physical
480 2.7
immaterial
4 7.4
intangible
22 7.2

Surface Forms

immaterial positive
immaterialer comparative
immaterialest superlative

Morphology

immaterial = material (transparent) = im + material

The adjective is formed by productive negation 'im-' + 'material' (physical), so 'immaterial' meaning 'not physical' is directly inferable.

Etymology

Immaterial comes from Latin parts in- 'not' and material 'matter', the same root as the English word material meaning 'physical stuff'. So in this sense immaterial means 'not made of physical stuff', like a ghost or a spirit.