immaterial

adjective

im·​ma·​te·​ri·​al ˌi-mə-ˈtir-ē-əl 

1

: of no substantial consequence : unimportant

It's immaterial if you stay or go.

2

: not consisting of matter : incorporeal

ghosts and other immaterial entities

Synonyms of immaterial

• spiritual
• incorporeal
• metaphysical
• nonmaterial
• invisible
• supernatural
• nonphysical
• insubstantial

Examples of immaterial in a Sentence

Whether or not he intended to cause problems is immaterial.

The fact that she is a woman is immaterial and irrelevant.

Recent Examples on the Web

And in a move that may seem immaterial to outside observers, 60 Minutes will in the coming weeks move from its historic base on West 57th across the street to the CBS Broadcast Center in Midtown Manhattan, joining the rest of the CBS News programming. —Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 24 Feb. 2026

But the Michael Reese tract currently is vacant, meaning taxes paid to the city are immaterial. —David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026

To be clear, the cash component in the Mountain West and Pac-12 deals isn’t immaterial — certainly not in the era of revenue sharing and NIL. —Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026

Besides Davis, the other players involved in the deal are largely immaterial. —Brad Townsend, Dallas Morning News, 4 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English immaterial, from Late Latin immaterialis, from Latin in- + Late Latin materialis material

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for immaterial

• magisterial
• managerial
• ministerial
• nonmaterial
• presbyterial
• antibacterial
• biomaterial
• mycobacterial
• arterial
• bacterial
• ethereal
• funereal

Kids Definition

immaterial

adjective

im·​ma·​te·​ri·​al ˌim-ə-ˈtir-ē-əl 

1

: not consisting of matter

2

: not important : insignificant

Legal Definition

immaterial

adjective

im·​ma·​te·​ri·​al ˌi-mə-ˈtir-ē-əl 

: not essential, pertinent, or of consequence

the jury could have discounted the medical history evidence, or while accepting its accuracy, found it immaterial

—Willett v. State, 911 S.W.2d 937 (1995)

compare irrelevant

immateriality

ˌi-mə-ˌtir-ē-ˈa-lə-tē 

noun