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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India’s religious and spiritual economy was estimated at roughly $58 billion in 2025, and is projected to grow steadily over the next decade.
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Amid a host of synthetic textures, the batá grounds the record in its spiritual reference; only the twins’ perspective changes.
Adjective
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In both the real and metaphysical locations of the show, the backgrounds are all painted by hand, something which was pointed out took up a lot of time due to the number of paintings in the show and due to the number of montages.
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In the 18th century Samuel Johnson coined the term metaphysical poets to criticize Donne, John Cleveland, and Abraham Cowley.
Adjective
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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.
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Christ Jesus’ example shows us how to turn away from material definitions of life by getting to know God as incorporeal divine Life.
Adjective
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The money, in Gupta’s view, is immaterial.
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The fact that it was conceived without thought and for decades was produced and consumed without thought is immaterial.
Cite this Entry
“Nonmaterial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonmaterial. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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