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immaterial

adjective

ˌi-mə-ˈtir-ē-əl How to pronounce immaterial (audio)
Definition of immaterialnext
1
as in spiritual
not composed of matter it is only possible to study immaterial forces like gravity by observing their effects on the physical world

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irrelevant
not having anything to do with the matter at hand while undoubtedly upsetting, that story is immaterial to the question of why you are late

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of immaterial To the casual observer, the look and feel of shipping containers suggests a world of smooth, lossless transportation, almost immaterial in its implementation of a logistical ideal. — Alexander Klose, Scientific American, 24 July 2026 The money, in Gupta’s view, is immaterial. — April Long, Allure, 24 June 2026 None of these readings are so emphatic as to render the others immaterial, and the pervading ambivalence paired with a steady but creeping pace could turn off viewers who just want a good mystery to solve. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 12 June 2026 Portofiro and the baroque universe surrounding it—communists on-world, techno-fascists offplanet, and all manner of augmentoids and spooks in the immaterial planes between—can make for a dizzying read. — Alex James Kane, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for immaterial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for immaterial
  1. spiritual
  2. irrelevant
  3. incorporeal
  4. metaphysical
  5. nonmaterial
  6. invisible
  7. supernatural
  8. nonphysical
Adjective
  • In the years since grit’s heyday, much of American culture has succumbed to a state of emotional and spiritual defeat.
    — Meghan O’Gieblyn, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Leadership continuously draws from a finite reserve of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy.
    — Dennis Volpe, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of spiritual
Adjective
  • Publishers don’t want irrelevant or misleading ads to appear on their media sources.
    — Roman Vrublivskyi, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • And for now, some inside and around the White House seem to view the plan’s opponents as irrelevant establishment voices.
    — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of irrelevant
Adjective
  • Followers of the Abrahamic religions are supposed to treat God as immaterial and incorporeal, yet these early Yahweh worshippers imagined him as fully embodied.
    — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Positioned as a large-scale genre event, the series updates the legendary SFX property with a contemporary political and social edge, with Shun Oguri leading the cast as a detective hunting a seemingly incorporeal killer.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 27 Jan. 2026
Definition of incorporeal
Adjective
  • For decades, metaphysical stores and botanicas have sold religious items and offered spiritual cleansings and readings in spite of stigmatization and gentrification.
    — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Eddy has been spared the worst violence; the novel casts his racial privilege as a kind of metaphysical exemption.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of metaphysical
Adjective
  • The author excludes them all, asserting that belief in any kind of nonmaterial, ethereal world lacks empirical support.
    — Denis Alexander, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2023
  • The first part of the book is committed to a ground-clearing exercise, describing the various concepts of the nonmaterial soul that feature in many different religious belief systems.
    — Denis Alexander, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2023
Definition of nonmaterial
Adjective
  • The cost of our avoidance of clozapine is invisible but enormous, measured in people who stay sick, and in lives that end early, for want of a drug already sitting on the shelf.
    — Nitin Gogtay, STAT, 4 Sep. 2026
  • From the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, without a doubt, one of the most important aspects in their invisible architecture was the stress test.
    — Matthew Peters, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of invisible
Adjective
  • But the choice of this particular angle of attack reveals the almost supernatural staying power of a rumor, or urban legend, that started roughly four decades ago.
    — Allen Salkin, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The original seven-season series followed Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, a young woman who slays vampires, demons and other supernatural creatures with the help of her friends.
    — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of supernatural
Adjective
  • In Ayurveda, Prana, the life force carried by the breath, is understood to nourish both the mind and body and can be viewed as a nonphysical substance, finer than oxygen.
    — Trisha Swift, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
  • In accounting, intangible assets are nonphysical possessions including such things as brands and intellectual property, software, mineral rights ‒ and contracts.
    — Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Definition of nonphysical

Browse Nearby Words

immanent
immaterial
immateriality
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Immaterial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/immaterial. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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