Adjacent Words

Substantial definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SUBSTAN'TIAL, a. Belonging to substance; real; actually existing.
If this atheist would have his chance to be a real and substantial agent, he is more stupid than the vulgar.
1. Real; solid; true; not seeming or imaginary.
If happiness be a substantial good.
The substantial ornaments of virtue.
2. Corporeal; material.
The rainbow appears like a substantial arch in the sky.
3. Having substance; strong; stout; solid; as substantial cloth; a substantial fence or gate.
4. Possessed of goods or estate; responsible; moderately wealthy; as a substantial freeholder or farmer; a substantial citizen.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: fairly large; "won by a substantial margin" [syn: significant, substantial]
2: having a firm basis in reality and being therefore important, meaningful, or considerable; "substantial equivalents" [syn: substantial, substantive]
3: having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary; "the substantial world"; "a mere dream, neither substantial nor practical"; "most ponderous and substantial things"- Shakespeare [syn: substantial, real, material] [ant: insubstantial, unreal, unsubstantial]
4: providing abundant nourishment; "a hearty meal"; "good solid food"; "ate a substantial breakfast"; "four square meals a day" [syn: hearty, satisfying, solid, square, substantial]
5: of good quality and condition; solidly built; "a solid foundation"; "several substantial timber buildings" [syn: solid, strong, substantial]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 14th century 1. a. consisting of or relating to substance b. not imaginary or illusory ; real, true c. important, essential 2. ample to satisfy and nourish ; full <a substantial meal> 3. a. possessed of means ; well-to-do b. considerable in quantity ; significantly great <earned a substantial wage> 4. firmly constructed ; sturdy <a substantial house> 5. being largely but not wholly that which is specified <a substantial lie> • substantial noun • substantiality noun • substantially adverb • substantialness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 a of real importance or value (made a substantial contribution). b of large size or amount (awarded substantial damages). 2 of solid material or structure; stout (a man of substantial build; a substantial house). 3 commercially successful; wealthy. 4 essential; true in large part (substantial truth). 5 having substance; real. Derivatives: substantiality n. substantially adv. Etymology: ME f. OF substantiel or LL substantialis (as SUBSTANCE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Substantial Sub*stan"tial, a. [F. substantiel, L. substantialis.] 1. Belonging to substance; actually existing; real; as, substantial life. --Milton. If this atheist would have his chance to be real and substantial agent, he is more stupid than the vulgar. --Bentley. 2. Not seeming or imaginary; not illusive; real; solid; true; veritable. If happinessbe a substantial good. --Denham. The substantial ornaments of virtue. --L'Estrange. 3. Corporeal; material; firm. ``Most ponderous and substantial things.'' --Shak. The rainbow [appears to be] a large substantial arch. --I. Watts. 4. Having good substance; strong; stout; solid; firm; as, substantial cloth; a substantial fence or wall. 5. Possessed of goods or an estate; moderately wealthy; responsible; as, a substantial freeholder. ``Substantial yeomen and burghers.'' --Sir W. Scott.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Substantial means large in amount or degree. (FORMAL) The party has just lost office and with it a substantial number of seats... = significant ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Real, actual, existent, subsistent, actually existing, having substance. 2. True, positive, solid, not imaginary. 3. Corporeal, material. 4. Strong, stout, solid, firm, stable, sound, massive, bulky. 5. Weighty, solid, firm, strong, valid, just, cogent, efficient. 6. Responsible (pecuniarily), moderately wealthy.

Moby Thesaurus

ab ovo, able to pay, absolute, abundant, actual, adequate, affluent, allegorical, ample, appreciable, ascendant, associational, authentic, authoritarian, authoritative, authorized, autocratic, balanced, barely sufficient, basal, basic, big, big-league, big-name, big-time, bigwig, bigwigged, binding, bodily, bumper, calculable, charismatic, charming, close, close-knit, close-textured, close-woven, clothed with authority, cogent, comfortable, commanding, commensurate, compact, compacted, competent, compressed, concentrated, concrete, condensed, congested, connotational, connotative, consequential, considerable, consistent, consolidated, constituent, constitutive, controlling, cool, corporal, corporeal, corresponding, crammed, crammed full, crowded, de facto, decent, definable, denotational, denotative, dense, dependable, dominant, double-barreled, due, duly constituted, durable, earthly, earthshaking, easy, effective, effectual, efficacious, elemental, elementary, eminent, empowered, enchanting, enough, equal to, essential, estimable, ex officio, expressive, extended, extensional, factual, faithful, faithworthy, fast, fiducial, figurative, firm, firm as Gibraltar, fit, fleshly, for real, full of meaning, full of point, full of substance, fundamental, generous, genuine, gluey, good, good enough, good for, goodly, governing, grand, great, gross, gut, hard, healthy, heavy, heavyweight, hegemonic, hegemonistic, high-powered, historical, honest-to-God, huge, hylic, impenetrable, imperative, impermeable, imperturbable, important, impressive, in equilibrium, indicative, influential, intelligible, intensional, interpretable, invincible, jam-packed, jammed, just, key, landed, large, large-scale, lawful, leading, legal, legitimate, logical, magnetic, major, man-sized, massive, material, materiate, meaning, meaningful, meaty, metaphorical, mighty, minimal, minimum, momentous, monocratic, name, nonporous, nonspiritual, numberless, numerous, objective, of the essence, official, original, packed, palpable, personable, persuasive, phenomenal, physical, pithy, plenty, plenty good enough, pointed, ponderable, positive, potent, powerful, predictable, preeminent, pregnant, prestigious, primal, primary, primitive, principal, profitable, prominent, propertied, proportionate, prosperous, puissant, radical, ranking, readable, real, referential, reliable, reputable, respectable, rich, ruling, satisfactory, secular, secure, self-consistent, self-important, senior, sensible, sententious, serious, serried, significant, significative, sizable, sizeable, snug, solid, solvent, somatic, sound, stable, staunch, steadfast, steady, stout, strong, sturdy, suasive, substantive, successful, sufficient, sufficient for, sufficing, suggestive, suitable, superior, supreme, sure, surefire, symbolic, tall, tangible, telling, temporal, thick, thick-growing, thickset, tidy, totalitarian, transferred, true, trustworthy, trusty, undeniable, underlying, unfailing, unflappable, unflinching, unindebted, unshakable, unspiritual, unwavering, up to, valid, vast, veritable, viscid, viscose, viscous, wealthy, weighty, well, well-balanced, well-built, well-established, well-fixed, well-founded, well-grounded, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do, winning, without nerves, world-shaking, worldly, worthwhile