as in spiritual
not composed of matter
Newton's laws explain the effects of nonmaterial forces on bodies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 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
-
The things that Finn has to get past and deal with in the course of the movie are relatively simple, and what Gwen is dealing with is much more complicated in terms of her mother’s death and inheriting her spiritual gift and feeling like an outsider who’s awkward, crazy and freakish.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Accompanied by a nonchalant guitar performance, dancer and choreographer Dong Jilan, donning a brown velvet dress and having the same long, wavy hair as Sanmao, woke up from a miniature dune and roamed around the set in a highly spiritual and ceremonial fashion.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Her poetry carries it all—the metaphysical, the flirtatious, the unsettling, the provocative— all in such miniscule space.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Yoga and sound baths set the tone, but the property also offers a roster of metaphysical experiences for those curious for something more.—
Susmita Baral,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In fact, magical life has the potential to be even more radically incorporeal than our own.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 June 2025
-
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
-
How and when, exactly, that divorce occurs is immaterial; there’s no coming back from this, and Penn State and Franklin both need something new.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Hence, there is no immortal or immaterial soul, no afterlife, all is explained by the movements of matter.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
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
Adjective
-
This a little closer to reality, despite being supernatural, and people fall in love in the real world all the time.—
Lexy Perez,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Oct. 2025
-
And yet, after a series of further downward spirals that will dig this scalawag even deeper into a hole and some supernatural mumbo-jumbo, his luck curiously starts to change….—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nonmaterial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonmaterial. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share