nonmaterial

adjective

ˌnän-mə-ˈtir-ē-əl How to pronounce nonmaterial (audio)
Definition of nonmaterialnext
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 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 The real challenge in terms of 2022 earnings is going to be addressing inflation in other costs, so nonmaterial costs. — George Stahl, WSJ, 12 Feb. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonmaterial
  1. spiritual
  2. metaphysical
  3. incorporeal
  4. immaterial
  5. nonphysical
Adjective
  • Created with his wife Nkuthazo Alexis Dyalvane, the work incorporates cow hair, leather and grass, influenced by ritual adornments, reflecting ancestral knowledge, healing and spiritual transformation.
    — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The President of the United States (John Goodman) and his cabinet of hawkish generals, gargoyle-ish officials, and speaking-in-tongues spiritual advisors gather at the oilman’s house to discuss next steps.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of spiritual
Adjective
  • Lee’s lines have the intimacy and metaphysical heft of prayer; their elegant recursions and repetitions call to mind the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Dürrenmatt is more focused on moral than metaphysical questions.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of metaphysical
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
  • FedEx, meanwhile, doesn’t list Amazon as a key customer in its annual report, suggesting its revenue contribution is immaterial.
    — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The space will become an immaterial garden with intricate cutouts creating shadows, reflections and transparency for viewing the jewelry creations.
    — Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of immaterial
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

nonmanual
nonmaterial
nonmaterialistic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nonmaterial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonmaterial. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tittle

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All