insubstantial
9
6.8
- adjective
- /ˌɪn.səbˈstæn.ʃəl/
:
insustancial
- The cake turned out insubstantial, crumbling easily and lacking in flavor.
- an insubstantial character
We do have numbers for it, but it's just it's insubstantial really.
- We do have numbers for it, but it's just it's insubstantial really.
- So he says the unhappy consciousness was a shape of the insubstantial process of consciousness itself.
- She opted to retreat rather than surrender and it pained her to compete with mere insubstantial girls.
- Does that mean that in terms of provisions, protection, preparation, there's there's it's insubstantial.
- So you bought in ultimately insubstantial life forms going about their business or their play.
- It has not only gone beyond all this and to the other extreme of an insubstantial reflection of itself and to itself, but also beyond that too.
Examples
-
So you bought in ultimately insubstantial life forms going about their business or their play.
-
Just as you described them back then, "insubstantial as ghosts."
-
Since her spirit is so light as to be almost insubstantial, her life suits her very well.
Fiction book (1997) -
Yet now that her plan was out in the open, it seemed as insubstantial as a snowflake.
Fiction book (1997) -
The towering girders seemed insubstantial in the soft light of the setting sun.
Fiction book (1998) -
The result? Political dialogue at the state level tends to be bland, insubstantial, derivative, and unserious.
Academic text (2002) -
The essence of the building is its physically insubstantial "Gothic principle," not a tangible physical trait.
Academic text (1998) -
Her hair was wavy and insubstantial as feathers, framing a winter-pale, scrubbed-looking face.
Fiction book (2001) -
The fabric of the wedding dress was light and insubstantial, almost like a whisper against the skin.
-
Her argument felt insubstantial, lacking the facts needed to convince the committee.
Synonyms
30
7.6
Very weak and not likely to be important or true
29
7.7
Not important and not likely to make a difference
19
4.6
Weak and not convincing as an excuse or argument
1
7.3
Not solid or real and having little value
1
7.9
Empty space with nothing inside
Not solid, strong, or important
Very small in amount or number
Not important or serious compared with other things
Antonyms
How Substantial
236
3.1
7
5.0
325
1.0
420
1.0
9
6.8
594
1.2
31
5.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
insubstantial = substantial (semi-transparent) = in + substant + ial
The negative prefix 'in-' combines straightforwardly with 'substantial' to mean 'not substantial'.
Etymology
Insubstantial starts with in- meaning 'not' and its main part is substance, which means 'stuff' or a 'solid thing'. So insubstantial means 'not having much substance', and that is why it describes a light, not filling meal or a weak idea.