substance

substance
sub|stance
W3 [ˈsʌbstəns] n
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
1¦(material)¦
2¦(truth)¦
3¦(ideas)¦
4¦(importance)¦
5 man/woman of substance
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: Latin substantia, from substare 'to stand under']
1.) ¦(MATERIAL)¦
a particular type of solid, liquid, or gas
▪ The leaves were covered with a strange sticky substance.
dangerous/toxic/hazardous/poisonous etc substance
▪ harmful substances in the atmosphere
▪ Plutonium 238 is one of the most toxic substances known to man.
illegal/banned/prohibited/controlled substance
(=used especially about illegal drugs)
▪ Police found an illegal substance in his car.
2.) ¦(TRUTH)¦ [U usually in questions and negatives] formal
if something has substance, it is true
▪ There is no substance to the rumours (=they are untrue) .
without substance
(=untrue)
▪ O'Connell's remarks are completely without substance.
3.) ¦(IDEAS)¦ [singular, U]
the most important ideas contained in an argument or piece of writing
= ↑essence
▪ The substance of his argument was that people on welfare should work.
in substance
▪ What she said, in substance, was that the mayor should resign.
4.) ¦(IMPORTANCE)¦[U] formal
importance
▪ It was an entertaining speech, but it lacked substance (=there was no important information in it) .
matters/issues of substance
▪ We should be discussing matters of substance.
5.) man/woman of substance
BrE literary a rich man or woman

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Synonyms:
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