as in spiritual
not composed of matter
Newton's laws explain the effects of nonmaterial forces on bodies
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Recent Examples of nonmaterial
Put simply, superheated plasma was being tested as fuel, but the temperatures melted any sort of solid container, so the experiments used nonmaterial vessels formed from extremely powerful magnetic fields.
—
Werner Herzog, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 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
Robert Kagan also emphasized the role of nonmaterial motives in U.S. foreign policy.
—William A. Galston, WSJ, 20 Sep. 2022
So people escaped into the nonmaterial world.
—Keith Gessen, Vogue, 19 May 2022
An example of a nonmaterial breach is a landlord thinking their tenant is not cleaning enough, but nothing has been damaged.
—Randy Furst, Star Tribune, 11 July 2021
So, for example, property may be capital, in the Marxist sense, but property values are dependent on things that are nonmaterial — that are ideological, or superstructural — like race.
—Vinson Cunningham, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2021
Werner Herzog, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 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
Robert Kagan also emphasized the role of nonmaterial motives in U.S. foreign policy.
—William A. Galston, WSJ, 20 Sep. 2022
So people escaped into the nonmaterial world.
—Keith Gessen, Vogue, 19 May 2022
An example of a nonmaterial breach is a landlord thinking their tenant is not cleaning enough, but nothing has been damaged.
—Randy Furst, Star Tribune, 11 July 2021
So, for example, property may be capital, in the Marxist sense, but property values are dependent on things that are nonmaterial — that are ideological, or superstructural — like race.
—Vinson Cunningham, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonmaterial
Adjective
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The spa menu includes massages, facials, and six healing rituals, such as the Restu Bumi, a spiritual cleansing massage featuring local tools, herbs, and warm gemstones.—
Samantha Leal,
Travel + Leisure,
31 Aug. 2025
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This September, the brand is returning to its spiritual home, hosting Climb Festival 2025 in San Francisco’s China Basin Park.—
Cassell Ferere,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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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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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Indeed, in stark contrast to the incorporeal nature of a digital image, each of Winant’s photographs is, in a sense, a discrete body: a fallible material entity that boasts a hidden physical history and that will compositionally deteriorate over time.—
Jessica Simmons-Reid,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
Adjective
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The justifications for the slaughter which started out so white hot after October 7th have cooled now, become more immaterial and incoherent.—
Jack Sheehan
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
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Relative to Rhode Island’s annual budget of nearly $14 billion, this increase in tax collections represents an immaterial impact.—
Nathan Goldman,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Armed with her signature razor-sharp wit and deadpan charm, Wednesday is also plunged into a new bone-chilling supernatural mystery.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Like other games in the series, Persona 5 Royal follows a group of teens up against a supernatural threat.—
Oliver Brandt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nonmaterial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonmaterial. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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