'Substance' definitions:
Definition of 'substance'
From: WordNet
noun
The real physical matter of which a person or thing consists; "DNA is the substance of our genes"
noun
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" [syn: kernel, substance, core, center, centre, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty- gritty]
noun
The idea that is intended; "What is the meaning of this proverb?" [syn: meaning, substance]
noun
Material of a particular kind or constitution; "the immune response recognizes invading substances"
noun
Considerable capital (wealth or income); "he is a man of means" [syn: means, substance]
noun
What a communication that is about something is about [syn: message, content, subject matter, substance]
noun
A particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties; "shigella is one of the most toxic substances known to man"
Definition of 'Substance'
From: GCIDE
- Substance \Sub"stance\, n. [F., fr. L. substantia, fr. substare to be under or present, to stand firm; sub under + stare to stand. See Stand.]
- 1. 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. [1913 Webster]
- These cooks, how they stamp, and strain, and grind, And turn substance into accident! --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
- Heroic virtue did his actions guide, And he the substance, not the appearance, chose. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The most important element in any existence; the characteristic and essential components of anything; the main part; essential import; purport. [1913 Webster]
- This edition is the same in substance with the Latin. --Bp. Burnet. [1913 Webster]
- It is insolent in words, in manner; but in substance it is not only insulting, but alarming. --Burke. [1913 Webster]
- 3. 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. [1913 Webster]
- 4. Material possessions; estate; property; resources. [1913 Webster]
- And there wasted his substance with riotous living. --Luke xv. 13. [1913 Webster]
- Thy substance, valued at the highest rate, Can not amount unto a hundred marks. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- We are destroying many thousand lives, and exhausting our substance, but not for our own interest. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
- 5. (Theol.) Same as Hypostasis, 2. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Substance'
From: GCIDE
- Substance \Sub"stance\, v. t. To furnish or endow with substance; to supply property to; to make rich. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'substance'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- actuality,
- affective meaning,
- affluence,
- air,
- amount,
- amplitude,
- assets,
- atom,
- atomic particles,
- atoms,
- axiom,
- balance,
- bank account,
- basis,
- bearing,
- being,
- bench mark,
- best part,
- better part,
- body,
- bottom,
- bottom dollar,
- bottomless purse,
- brute matter,
- budget,
- building block,
- bulging purse,
- bulk,
- burden,
- call,
- cardinal point,
- case,
- cash reserves,
- cause,
- center,
- chapter,
- checking account,
- chemical element,
- chief thing,
- climax,
- coloring,
- command of money,
- component,
- composition,
- concern,
- concreteness,
- connotation,
- consequence,
- constituent,
- core,
- cornerstone,
- corporeality,
- corpus,
- crisis,
- critical point,
- crux,
- denotation,
- density,
- distillate,
- distillation,
- drift,
- durability,
- earth,
- easy circumstances,
- effect,
- element,
- elementary particle,
- elementary unit,
- elixir,
- embarras de richesses,
- entity,
- essence,
- essential,
- essential matter,
- essentiality,
- exchequer,
- extension,
- extent,
- fabric,
- finances,
- fire,
- firmness,
- flower,
- focus,
- focus of attention,
- focus of interest,
- force,
- fortune,
- foundation,
- fund,
- fundamental,
- fundamental particle,
- funds,
- generality,
- gist,
- gold,
- good reason,
- grammatical meaning,
- gravamen,
- great point,
- ground,
- grounds,
- handsome fortune,
- head,
- heading,
- heart,
- high income,
- high point,
- high tax bracket,
- hyle,
- hypostasis,
- idea,
- impact,
- implication,
- import,
- important thing,
- independence,
- individual,
- inner essence,
- intension,
- issue,
- kernel,
- keystone,
- kitty,
- landmark,
- lexical meaning,
- life savings,
- literal meaning,
- living issue,
- lucre,
- luxuriousness,
- magnitude,
- main body,
- main point,
- main thing,
- major part,
- majority,
- mammon,
- marrow,
- mass,
- material,
- material basis,
- material point,
- material resources,
- material wealth,
- material world,
- materiality,
- materials,
- materiel,
- matter,
- matter in hand,
- meaning,
- meaningfulness,
- means,
- measure,
- measurement,
- meat,
- medium,
- milestone,
- molecule,
- monad,
- money,
- money to burn,
- moneybags,
- moneys,
- most,
- motif,
- motive,
- natural world,
- nature,
- nest egg,
- nub,
- nubbin,
- nucleus,
- numbers,
- nuts and bolts,
- object,
- opulence,
- opulency,
- overtone,
- palpability,
- pecuniary resources,
- pelf,
- pertinence,
- physical world,
- pith,
- pivot,
- plenum,
- plurality,
- pocket,
- point,
- point at issue,
- point in question,
- ponderability,
- pool,
- possessions,
- postulate,
- practical consequence,
- principle,
- problem,
- property,
- prosperity,
- prosperousness,
- purport,
- purse,
- quantity,
- quantum,
- question,
- quid,
- quiddity,
- quintessence,
- quintessential,
- range of meaning,
- raw material,
- real issue,
- real meaning,
- reality,
- reason,
- recap,
- recapitulation,
- reference,
- referent,
- relation,
- relevance,
- reserves,
- resources,
- resume,
- riches,
- richness,
- right,
- rubric,
- run-through,
- rundown,
- salient point,
- sap,
- savings,
- savings account,
- scope,
- semantic cluster,
- semantic field,
- sense,
- short,
- significance,
- signification,
- significatum,
- signifie,
- sine qua non,
- solidity,
- soul,
- soundness,
- span of meaning,
- spirit,
- stability,
- staple,
- steadiness,
- stock,
- store,
- stoutness,
- strength,
- structural meaning,
- stuff,
- sturdiness,
- subject,
- subject matter,
- subject of thought,
- substances,
- substantiality,
- substantialness,
- substantive point,
- substratum,
- sum,
- sum and substance,
- sum total,
- summary,
- summation,
- supply,
- Swiss bank account,
- symbolic meaning,
- tangibility,
- tangible,
- tenor,
- text,
- the bottom line,
- the four elements,
- the nitty-gritty,
- the point,
- theme,
- thrust,
- topic,
- totality of associations,
- toughness,
- transferred meaning,
- treasure,
- turning point,
- unadorned meaning,
- undertone,
- unit of being,
- unregistered bank account,
- upper bracket,
- upshot,
- value,
- warrant,
- water,
- wealth,
- wealthiness,
- wherewithal,
- whole,
- worth
Words containing 'Substance'
- Ground substance,
- body substance,
- chemical substance,
- controlled substance,
- gray substance,
- grey substance,
- humic substance,
- intercellular substance,
- living substance,
- lubricating substance,
- plant substance,
- poisonous substance,
- psychoactive substance,
- substance abuse,
- substance abuser,
- synthetic substance,
- translucent substance,
- transparent substance,
- Schwann's white substance,
- liquid body substance,
- solid body substance,
- Specific heat of a substance at any temperature