1
as in unsubstantial
being of a material lacking in sturdiness or substance
an insubstantial carton that could not possibly stand up during long-distance shipping
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spiritual
not composed of matter
energy is insubstantial
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insubstantial
After speaking to my physician colleagues and hearing their earnest frustrations, there’s no doubt in my mind that the system needs reform and the association’s proposals—which are not insubstantial and would address many of the problems —are a great place to start.
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Sachin H. Jain, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
The film and television tax credit may seem slightly insubstantial when compared with the state of the world right now, Rhine advised in a session largely focused on messaging.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025
Nineteen is certainly a lot lower than 42, but, um, 19 over the course of 94 episodes of television is not exactly and insubstantial amount.
—Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Trump and Musk are truly onions made of glass: shiny orbs of one insubstantial layer over another, with nothing in the center, liable to be shattered under the slightest pressure.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insubstantial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insubstantial
Adjective
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This can alter the amount and types of ACE-inhibiting peptides created during fermentation2—and possibly account for kombucha's unsubstantial effect on blood pressure.—
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Then again … This really does sum up Reeves’s unsubstantial performance as Jonathan Harker, whose new client is definitely up to no good.—
Adjective
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Aloka was found by Bhikkhu Pannakara, vice president of the center and spiritual leader of the walk, during a peace walk in India, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.—
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When the music dissolves into an ethereal, ambient soundscape and a psychedelic, spiritual journey, that’s where finding the right amount of energy, aggression, violence, and grief, to support the story and to explain things that the dialog couldn’t, was the most challenging part.—
Adjective
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Are the clasps and hinges sturdy, not flimsy?—
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But the advent of the transfer portal has made the hope for a return investment even flimsier.—
Adjective
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In fact, magical life has the potential to be even more radically incorporeal than our own.—
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Indeed, in stark contrast to the incorporeal nature of a digital image, each of Winant’s photographs is, in a sense, a discrete body: a fallible material entity that boasts a hidden physical history and that will compositionally deteriorate over time.—
Adjective
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Perverts By turns a budding chart sensation, a political firebrand, and an enthusiastic cataloguer of cryptids, Ethel Cain interrupts a stream of gossamer pop, folk, and rock records with Perverts, a droning rejection of the accessibility of her 2022 Billboard top-ten debut Preacher’s Daughter.—
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No matter how far-fetched the premise or gossamer-thin the story, the musical invites (compels) us to go along with its essential surrealism, to travel to that dream space where everyday life suddenly moves and sounds deliriously out of this world.—
Adjective
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Beverly, a waitress who had another daughter and then a son in the two years after Smith was born (and eventually one more daughter), had little time for her eldest’s metaphysical ponderings.—
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The film follows a young couple (Qualley and Starkey), who inherit a farm in rural Arkansas and must conquer the demons, both physical and metaphysical, that haunt its legacy.—
Adjective
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There is a lot of buzz around vertical drama with frothy forecasts for viewing numbers and revenues for the ultra-shortform series, which started out in Asia and are taking root around the world.—
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His freewheeling political rallies and frothy social media presence were, and continue to be, a source of great glee to his fans and followers.—
Adjective
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The fact Mahomes got hurt is immaterial to the fact the Chiefs were always bound to fall.—
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Those details are immaterial now.—
Cite this Entry
“Insubstantial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insubstantial. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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