Definitions for substance
ˈsʌb stənssub·stance

Princeton's WordNet(3.41 / 17 votes)Rate this definition:

1. substancenoun

   the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists

   "DNA is the substance of our genes"

2. kernel, substance, core, center, centre, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty-grittynoun

   the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience

   "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"

3. meaning, substancenoun

   the idea that is intended

   "What is the meaning of this proverb?"

4. substancenoun

   material of a particular kind or constitution

   "the immune response recognizes invading substances"

5. means, substancenoun

   considerable capital (wealth or income)

   "he is a man of means"

6. message, content, subject matter, substancenoun

   what a communication that is about something is about

7. substancenoun

   a particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties

   "shigella is one of the most toxic substances known to man"

Wiktionary(3.67 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. substancenoun

   Physical matter; material.

2. substancenoun

   The essential part of anything; the most vital part.

3. substancenoun

   Considerable wealth or resources.

   A man of substance.

4. substancenoun

   Drugs

   substance abuse

5. Etymology: From substance, from substantia, from substans, present active participle of substo, from sub + sto.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. SUBSTANCEnoun

   Etymology: substance, Fr, substantia, Latin.

   1. Being; something existing; something of which we can say that it is.

   Since then the soul works by herself alone,
   Springs not from sense, nor humours well agreeing,
   Her nature is peculiar, and her own;
   She is a substance, and a perfect being. Davies.

   The strength of gods,
   And this empyreal substance cannot fail. John Milton.

   2. That which supports accidents.

   What creatures there inhabit, of what mold,
   And substance. John Milton.

   Every being is considered as subsisting in and by itself, and then it is called a substance; or it subsists in and by another, and then it is called a mode or manner of being. Isaac Watts.

   3. The essential part.

   It will serve our turn to comprehend the substance, without confining ourselves to scrupulous exactness in form. Digby.

   This edition is the same in substance with the Latin. Burn.

   They are the best epitomes, and let you see with one cast of the eye the substance of a hundred pages. Addison.

   4. Something real, not imaginary; something solid, not empty.

   Shadows to night
   Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard,
   Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers
   Arm’d in proof and led by shallow Richard. William Shakespeare.

   He the future evil shall no less
   In apprehension than in substance feel. John Milton.

   Heroick virtue did his actions guide,
   And he the substance, not th’ appearance chose:
   To rescue one such friend he took more pride,
   Than to destroy whole thousands of such foes. Dryden.

   5. Body; corporeal nature.

   Between the parts of opake and coloured bodies are many spaces, either empty or replenished with mediums of other densities; as water between the tinging corpuscles wherewith any liquor is impregnated, air between the aqueous globules that constitute clouds or mists, and for the most part spaces void of both air and water; but yet perhaps not wholly void of all substance between the parts of hard bodies. Newton.

   The qualities of plants are more various than those of animal substances. John Arbuthnot, on Aliments.

   6. Wealth; means of life.

   He hath eaten me out of house and home, and hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his, but I will have some of it out again. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.

   We are destroying many thousand lives, and exhausting our substance, but not for our own interest. Jonathan Swift.

Webster Dictionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Substancenoun

   that which underlies all outward manifestations; substratum; the permanent subject or cause of phenomena, whether material or spiritual; that in which properties inhere; that which is real, in distinction from that which is apparent; the abiding part of any existence, in distinction from any accident; that which constitutes anything what it is; real or existing essence

2. Substancenoun

   the most important element in any existence; the characteristic and essential components of anything; the main part; essential import; purport

3. Substancenoun

   body; matter; material of which a thing is made; hence, substantiality; solidity; firmness; as, the substance of which a garment is made; some textile fabrics have little substance

4. Substancenoun

   material possessions; estate; property; resources

5. Substancenoun

   same as Hypostasis, 2

6. Substanceverb

   to furnish or endow with substance; to supply property to; to make rich

7. Etymology: [F., fr. L. substantia, fr. substare to be under or present, to stand firm; sub under + stare to stand. See Stand.]

Freebase(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Substance

   Substance is a 1987 compilation album by New Order, consisting of all of the band's singles at that point in their 12-inch versions, together with their respective B-side tracks. The then newly-released non-album single "True Faith" is also featured, along with its B-side "1963". The collection was released on vinyl, double CD, double cassette and Digital Audio Tape.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Substance

   sub′stans, n. that in which qualities or attributes exist, the existence to which qualities belong: that which constitutes anything what it is: the essential part: body: matter: property: foundation, ground, confidence. [L. substantia—substāre, to stand under—sub, under, stāre, to stand.]

Matched Categories

1. • Capital
   • Communication
   • Content
   • Idea
   • Physical Entity

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'substance' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4155

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'substance' in Nouns Frequency: #1238

How to pronounce substance?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say substance in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of substance in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of substance in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of substance in a Sentence

1. Jared Jagdeo:

   The findings [of the current study] highlight the importance of educating the general public prior to tattooing, anytime you introduce a foreign substance into the body, in this case the skin, there is the potential for adverse events [such as] infection or something more serious like an allergic reaction.

2. Neel Kashkari:

   The Wall Street critics can't argue with me on the substance of too-big-to-fail, so they criticize the messenger, i welcome their criticisms because they are an implicit admission that I am right.

3. Cory Gardner:

   Now is the time to have a discussion about what we can do to break down the barriers that prevent help going to people who need it – whether that’s a substance abuse issue or whether that’s a mental health concern.

4. Carsten Hjorthøj:

   I think it is highly important to use both our study and other studies to highlight and emphasize that cannabis use is not harmless, there is, unfortunately, evidence to suggest that cannabis is increasingly seen as a somewhat harmless substance. This is unfortunate, since we see links with schizophrenia, poorer cognitive function, substance use disorders, etc.

5. Actor Nickolas Nolte:

   GHB was one substance I ran into that I shouldn’t have messed with.

Popularity rank by frequency of use