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material
[ muh-teer-ee-uhl ]
noun
- the substance or substances of which a thing is made or composed:
Stone is a durable material.
- anything that serves as crude or raw matter to be used or developed:
Wood pulp is the raw material from which paper is made.
- any constituent element.
- a textile fabric:
material for a dress.
- a group of ideas, facts, data, etc., that may provide the basis for or be incorporated into some integrated work:
to gather material for a history of North Carolina;
to write material for a comedy show.
- materials, the articles or apparatus needed to make or do something:
writing materials.
- a person considered as having qualities suited to a particular sphere of activity:
The boy's teachers did not think he was college material.
adjective
- formed or consisting of matter; physical; corporeal:
the material world.
Antonyms: incorporeal
- relating to, concerned with, or involving matter:
material forces.
- pertaining to the physical rather than the spiritual or intellectual aspect of things:
material comforts.
- pertaining to or characterized by an undue interest in corporeal things; unspiritual.
- characterized by an overriding interest in wealth and possessions and the consumption of luxury goods and services:
You could probably call him a material guy, as he’s had expensive tastes and a lust for fashion from the time he was a kid.
- of substantial import; of much consequence; important:
Your support will make a material difference in the success of our program.
Antonyms: unimportant
- pertinent or essential (usually followed by to ):
a question not material to the subject at hand.
- Law. likely to influence the determination of a case:
material evidence.
- Philosophy. of or relating to matter as distinguished from form.
material
/ məˈtɪərɪəl /
noun
- the substance of which a thing is made or composed; component or constituent matter
raw material
- facts, notes, etc, that a finished work may be based on or derived from
enough material for a book
- cloth or fabric
- a person who has qualities suitable for a given occupation, training, etc
that boy is not university material
adjective
- of, relating to, or composed of physical substance; corporeal
- philosophy composed of or relating to physical as opposed to mental or spiritual substance
the material world
- of, relating to, or affecting economic or physical wellbeing
material ease
- of or concerned with physical rather than spiritual interests
- of great import or consequence
of material benefit to the workers
- often foll by to relevant
- philosophy of or relating to matter as opposed to form
- law relevant to the issue before court: applied esp to facts or testimony of much significance
a material witness
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Derived Forms
- maˈterialness, noun
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Other Words From
- ma·te·ri·al·ness noun
- pre·ma·te·ri·al adjective
- qua·si-ma·te·ri·al adjective
- qua·si-ma·te·ri·al·ly adverb
- su·per·ma·te·ri·al noun
- trans·ma·te·ri·al adjective
- un·ma·te·ri·al adjective
- un·ma·te·ri·al·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of material1
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
The CDA was passed not in the name of censorship but in the name of protecting children from stumbling across sexual material.
The genetic material can grow quickly, but are typically riddled with errors or defects.
Cold War fears could be manipulated through misleading art to attract readers to daunting material.
Where the U.S. once depended on its own forces to determine who was military material, this time the Iraqis will decide.
In any case, some enterprising independent producer might have enough material for a reality-show pilot.
Eggs and nestlings were found lying on the bare soil at the inner ends of the burrows; no nesting material was found.
I would ask you to imagine it translated into every language, a common material of understanding throughout all the world.
The sleeves of his doublet which protruded from his leather casing were of the same colour and material as his trunks.
It makes out of the savage raw material which is our basal mental stuff, a citizen.
She waited for the material pictures which she thought would gather and blaze before her imagination.
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