substantive

adjective sub·stan·tive \ ˈsəb-stən-tiv ; senses 3c & 4 also səb-ˈstan-tiv \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: substantive in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of substantive

1 : having substance : involving matters of major or practical importance to all concerned

substantive discussions among world leaders

2 : considerable in amount or numbers : substantial

made substantive progress

3 a : real rather than apparent : firm

need substantive evidence to prove her guilt

; also : permanent, enduring

b : belonging to the substance of a thing : essential

c : expressing existence

the substantive verb is the verb to be

4 a : having the nature or function of a noun

a substantive phrase

b : relating to or having the character of a noun or pronominal term in logic

5 : creating and defining rights and duties

substantive law

— compare procedural

6 : requiring or involving no mordant

a substantive dyeing process

7 : being a totally independent entity

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substantively

adverb

—

substantiveness

noun

See substantive defined for English-language learners

substantive was our Word of the Day on 05/14/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of substantive in a Sentence

"This was not a drive-by P.R. stunt, and I actually thought it might be," said Representative Zach Wamp, Republican of Tennessee. "It was a substantive, in-depth discussion with our conference, and he's very effective." —Jackie Calmes & Carl Hulse, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2009
The first substantive issue that the Supreme Court considered in its Brown opinion was whether, as originally understood, the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited racial segregation in public schooling. The justices concluded that the historical record was inconclusive. —Randall Kennedy, New Republic, 5 & 12 July 2004
The common critique of art's pleasures and entertainments—that they are trivial, devoid of substantive value, and degrading of art's genuine worth—rests on ignoring this diversity by making two false assumptions: first, that there is basically one kind of aesthetic pleasure in art's entertainment and, secondly, that this pleasure is always a shallow and trivial one, which distracts us from interest in art's real meaning and truth. —Richard Shusterman, Let's Entertain: Life's Guilty Pleasures, 2000
These changes are more symbolic than substantive.
No substantive changes were made to the document.
There is no substantive reason to change the law.

Recent Examples of substantive from the Web

The only substantive issue is Arrington’s claim that Sanford has been insufficiently servile towards the president.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "GOP Could Get Even Trumpier in June 12 Primaries," 12 June 2018
The emails included substantive political discussions but also exchanges between Podesta, his friends, and his family about mundane personal matters like dinner plans.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "The Legal War on Alex Jones," 29 May 2018
As for substantive issues, one of Macron's main objectives during his three-day visit to Washington was to persuade Trump to stay in the Iran accord, which is aimed at restricting Iran's development of nuclear weapons.

— Fox News, "Trump, Macron make a show as best buds but tussle over Iran," 26 Apr. 2018
Officially, Newman served as director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, but her role was not substantive and appeared to White House staffers as being more performative than anything else.

— jeremy barr, The Hollywood Reporter, "Who Wants to Publish Omarosa's White House Tell-All Book?," 2 Mar. 2018
Buffett's letter, which last year clocked in at 28 pages as opposed to modern-day tweets that now max out at 280 characters, is substantive and insightful, but written in his folksy, easy-to-understand style.

— editors, USA TODAY, "5 things you need to know this weekend," 24 Feb. 2018
There was Intel, there was a couple of companies, but nothing substantive.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Dave Patterson and John Hennessy on Recode Decode," 17 May 2018
Most of the more substantive ideas that the lobbyists and other experts expect to see this week are relatively small changes to the way Medicare and perhaps Medicaid pay for drugs.

— erin mershon, STAT, "Trump often goes off script. What does that mean for his drug pricing speech?," 7 May 2018
And their job is to ask substantive questions and get answers.

— Fox News, "Nunes: Documents about Flynn show Comey has been lying," 4 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'substantive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of substantive

Middle English, from Anglo-French sustentif — see ²substantive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 7

See Words from the same year

substantive Synonyms

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

substantive

noun sub·stan·tive \ ˈsəb-stən-tiv \

Definition of substantive

: noun; broadly : a word or word group functioning syntactically as a noun

—

substantivize

play \ˈsəb-stən-ti-ˌvīz\ transitive verb

See substantive defined for English-language learners

See substantive defined for kids

Did You Know?

Substantive was borrowed into Middle English from the Anglo-French adjective sustentif, meaning "having or expressing substance," and can be traced back to the Latin verb substare, which literally means "to stand under." Figuratively, the meaning of "substare" is best understood as "to stand firm" or "to hold out." Since the 14th century, we have used "substantive" to speak of that which is of enough "substance" to stand alone, or be independent. By the 19th century the word evolved related meanings, such as "enduring" and "essential." It also shares some senses with "substantial," such as "considerable in quantity."

Origin and Etymology of substantive

Middle English substantif, from Anglo-French sustentif, from sustentif, adjective, having or expressing substance, from Late Latin substantivus, from Latin substantia

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year