insubstantial
not substantial or real; lacking substance: an insubstantial world of dreams.
not solid or firm; weak; flimsy.
not substantial in amount or size; inconsiderable: an insubstantial sum.
Origin of insubstantial
1Other words from insubstantial
- in·sub·stan·ti·al·i·ty, noun
- in·sub·stan·tial·ly, adverb
Words Nearby insubstantial
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use insubstantial in a sentence
Some doctors even recommend surgery—which comes with its own not insubstantial risks for older individuals—before trying biologics.
Their bodies are so insubstantial that capturing them has been likened to trying to catch fog in a net and then pickle it in a jar.
The cameras that capture fragile deep-sea jellies in their element | Elizabeth Anne Brown | March 10, 2022 | MIT Technology ReviewHowever, for the sake of what isn’t an insubstantial investment, don’t mistake that for being fully waterproof.
JBL PartyBox 110 review: Make (and take) a splash | Markkus Rovito | September 16, 2021 | Popular-ScienceMeanwhile, this vast ecosystem of plug-ins brings with it a not-insubstantial number of security vulnerabilities.
Looking to leave WordPress behind? You’re not alone | Pamela Parker | May 25, 2021 | Search Engine LandEven these willfully insubstantial constructions are more concrete than Jacqueline Maggi’s diaphanous, unoccupied rectangular enclosure.
In the galleries: A wide array of media carry election-year messages | Mark Jenkins | October 30, 2020 | Washington Post
It was at least something, however insubstantial, that he could offer to Karzai at the talks.
Taliban’s Quetta Shura Meet in Islamabad to Press for Peace | Ron Moreau | November 1, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHis aspect was as insubstantial as fog, dreams, or an expelled breath, and in this he resembled billions of human beings.
3 Must-Read Offbeat Novels: ‘A Million Heavens,’ ‘The Investigation,’ ‘Office Girl’ | Drew Toal, Kevin Canfield, Daniel Roberts | July 6, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter a brief market rally on Monday, confidence was snuffed out as traders reckoned the support was insubstantial.
insubstantial novelty has more to do with decadence than any form of innovation.
That was another relative—James Lampton, a cousin—quite as lovable, and a builder of even more insubstantial dreams.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete | Albert Bigelow PaineThe coast of America now looked more like a low-lying fringe of insubstantial cloud than solid land.
Tramping on Life | Harry KempHere we may fashion pictures and weave around them gossamer draperies as insubstantial as this golden twilight.
The Broken Sword | Dennison WorthingtonWhen viewed in the light of that modern common sense which has guided economic discussion, it seems formal and insubstantial.
The Theory of the Leisure Class | Thorstein VeblenOdd to reflect on—they were the insubstantial but coveted wealth of the woman fallen upon poverty, ignoble poverty!
The Amazing Marriage, Complete | George Meredith
British Dictionary definitions for insubstantial
/ (ˌɪnsəbˈstænʃəl) /
not substantial; flimsy, tenuous, or slight
imaginary; unreal
Derived forms of insubstantial
- insubstantiality, noun
- insubstantially, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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