1
as in unsubstantial
being of a material lacking in sturdiness or substance
an insubstantial carton that could not possibly stand up during long-distance shipping
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spiritual
not composed of matter
energy is insubstantial
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insubstantial
Trump and Musk are truly onions made of glass: shiny orbs of one insubstantial layer over another, with nothing in the center, liable to be shattered under the slightest pressure.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Nineteen is certainly a lot lower than 42, but, um, 19 over the course of 94 episodes of television is not exactly and insubstantial amount.
—Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 28 Apr. 2025
YouTube videos as addictive and insubstantial as cotton candy needed my immediate intervention.
—Michael Alcée, Hartford Courant, 13 Apr. 2025
Bashar was an ophthalmology student in London, a weak-chinned introvert who was widely seen as a bit insubstantial.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insubstantial
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Nineteen is certainly a lot lower than 42, but, um, 19 over the course of 94 episodes of television is not exactly and insubstantial amount.
—Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 28 Apr. 2025
YouTube videos as addictive and insubstantial as cotton candy needed my immediate intervention.
—Michael Alcée, Hartford Courant, 13 Apr. 2025
Bashar was an ophthalmology student in London, a weak-chinned introvert who was widely seen as a bit insubstantial.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insubstantial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insubstantial
Adjective
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The hit isn’t unsubstantial: In 2024, textile exports to the United States accounted for 10.7 percent of China’s total textile exports, valued at $14.8 billion, and 22.7 percent of China’s total apparel exports, or $36.1 billion’s worth.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
5 May 2025
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The algorithm fed the Giants pitcher a savory yet unsubstantial diet of short-form content.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This is perhaps the best day of the year to think about your spiritual values or the basic things that guide you.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
23 Aug. 2025
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Because of the revolts, Compton says, drumming and African spiritual practices were eventually criminalized in the colonies.—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Without boots on the ground, however, Western security guarantees will be as flimsy as the assurances they, and Russia, gave Ukraine in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, when Kyiv gave up its nuclear weapons.—
Peter Rutland,
The Conversation,
22 Aug. 2025
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Utopia Kitchen 4-Pack Airtight Cereal Containers Cereal bags are flimsy, prone to tearing, and don’t hold freshness well, which is why having airtight containers is a great solution.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, magical life has the potential to be even more radically incorporeal than our own.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 June 2025
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To the casual observer, the data industry can seem incorporeal, its products conjured out of weightless bits.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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No matter how far-fetched the premise or gossamer-thin the story, the musical invites (compels) us to go along with its essential surrealism, to travel to that dream space where everyday life suddenly moves and sounds deliriously out of this world.—
Manohla Dargis,
New York Times,
7 May 2020
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For her label Anissa Aida, designer Anissa Meddeb, who lives in the capital, makes gossamer silk blouses evoking the striped motif of handwoven fouta towels and voluminous coats inspired by the burnoose cloaks worn by Berbers.—
Sarah Khan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Feb. 2020
Adjective
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Vendors will offer beads, minerals, gemstones, custom jewelry, fossils, artifacts, and metaphysical stones.—
Joe Rassel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Aug. 2025
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The surrounding wave paintings add emotional turbulence, invoking both the physical might and metaphysical vastness of the sea.—
Lee Sharrock,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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By the way, that tiny cash payout epitomizes why equities are looking so frothy.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
16 Aug. 2025
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Clad in stainless steel, the hall’s sweeping concave and convex forms are at once a frothy and elegant statement on Grand Avenue.—
R. Daniel Foster,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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These species play a crucial role in maintaining balance within the fragile ecosystem.—
Lauren Liebhaber,
Miami Herald,
14 Aug. 2025
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At the same time, Jota’s death has brought certain things into sharp context, about how fragile life — and within that, something like a football career — can be.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insubstantial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insubstantial. Accessed 2 Sep. 2025.
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