Main Entry:

sub·stance

Pronunciation:

\ˈsəb-stən(t)s\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin substantia, from substant-, substans, present participle of substare to stand under, from sub- + stare to stand — more at stand

Date:

14th century

1 a: essential nature : essence b: a fundamental or characteristic part or quality cChristian Science : god 1b2 a: ultimate reality that underlies all outward manifestations and change b: practical importance : meaning, usefulness <the…bill—which will be without substance in the sense that it will authorize nothing more than a set of ideas — Richard Reeves>3 a: physical material from which something is made or which has discrete existence b: matter of particular or definite chemical constitution c: something (as drugs or alcoholic beverages) deemed harmful and usually subject to legal restriction <possession of a controlled substance> <substance abuse>4: material possessions : property <a family of substance>

— sub·stance·less \-ləs\ adjective

— in substance

: in respect to essentials : fundamentally