insubstantial
Americanadjective
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not substantial or real; lacking substance.
an insubstantial world of dreams.
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not solid or firm; weak; flimsy.
-
not substantial in amount or size; inconsiderable.
an insubstantial sum.
adjective
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not substantial; flimsy, tenuous, or slight
-
imaginary; unreal
Other Word Forms
- insubstantiality noun
- insubstantially adverb
Etymology
Origin of insubstantial
From the Late Latin word insubstantiālis, dating back to 1600–10. See in- 3, substantial
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But CBS is already full of people who think they know what they’re doing, who believe they represent hallowed tradition, the so-called Tiffany network, against which the Free Press must seem a tad insubstantial.
Bold yet insubstantial, “Love Hurts” insecurely asks the score to do too much work, pounding away at a funky spy track before unconvincingly pivoting to something sincere.
From Los Angeles Times
And, it added, the savings Texas sought were “wholly insubstantial in light of the costs involved to these children, the State, and the Nation” of creating “a subclass of illiterates within our boundaries.”
From Los Angeles Times
The UN's cultural agency said that despite "significant growth in production", the business of film-making across the continent was hindered by issues such as piracy, insubstantial training opportunities and a lack of official film institutions.
From BBC
The UN's cultural agency said that despite "significant growth in production", industries across the content were hindered by issues such as piracy, insubstantial training opportunities and a lack of official film institutions.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
