1
as in unsubstantial
being of a material lacking in sturdiness or substance
an insubstantial carton that could not possibly stand up during long-distance shipping
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spiritual
not composed of matter
energy is insubstantial
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insubstantial
The Mad Max cameo in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is so brief and seemingly insubstantial that it can barely be considered a cameo.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 May 2024
But while the crimes may feel insubstantial, the stakes for American democracy are far weightier.
—Tessa Berenson Rogers, TIME, 30 May 2024
And Dalla Porta can’t build a flesh-and-blood character out of a woman who seems as billowy and insubstantial as the movie that bears her name.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024
By emphasizing the details of her characters’ work, Waldman endows what might seem insubstantial in other hands with depth and shadow.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for insubstantial
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 May 2024
But while the crimes may feel insubstantial, the stakes for American democracy are far weightier.
—Tessa Berenson Rogers, TIME, 30 May 2024
And Dalla Porta can’t build a flesh-and-blood character out of a woman who seems as billowy and insubstantial as the movie that bears her name.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024
By emphasizing the details of her characters’ work, Waldman endows what might seem insubstantial in other hands with depth and shadow.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for insubstantial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insubstantial
Adjective
-
Salads Salads don’t have to feel flimsy or unsubstantial.—
Katie Workman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Sep. 2023
-
From a personal finance perspective, people with extra cash should feel free to put an unsubstantial portion of their wealth into high-risk, high-volatility assets like crypto or meme stocks or even Super Bowl bets (thanks for the two-touchdown performance, Cooper Kupp).—
Scott Nover,
Quartz,
14 Feb. 2022
Adjective
-
From Ben Affleck to Seth Rogen, Hollywood finds a ‘spiritual home’ at SXSW.—
Ryan Fonseca,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2025
-
Alcantara was quite spiritual and often ministered at the church.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
There, the flimsy divide between low- and middle-income workers wouldn’t be concretized through housing policy.—
Jennifer Wilson,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2025
-
Instead, Green presents a flimsy scenario of one popstar wielding his power for vaguely nefarious purposes.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
If reason teaches that God is incorporeal, this means that God has no body; God does not physically see, nor do people see God.—
Randy L. Friedman,
The Conversation,
16 Feb. 2024
-
The digital files are incorporeal.—
BostonGlobe.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
9 June 2021
Adjective
-
No matter how far-fetched the premise or gossamer-thin the story, the musical invites (compels) us to go along with its essential surrealism, to travel to that dream space where everyday life suddenly moves and sounds deliriously out of this world.—
Manohla Dargis,
New York Times,
7 May 2020
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For her label Anissa Aida, designer Anissa Meddeb, who lives in the capital, makes gossamer silk blouses evoking the striped motif of handwoven fouta towels and voluminous coats inspired by the burnoose cloaks worn by Berbers.—
Sarah Khan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Feb. 2020
Adjective
-
But the sequences are also meant to be dream visions, metaphysical and cinematic escapes into an alternate dimension full of exquisite grandiosity and grace.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2025
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The movie is a metaphysical mystery, a sort of American gothic in which a warm and inviting old suburban house becomes the shivery site of a haunting, a confinement, and a menace.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Even Bauman’s funniest musical bits get swallowed in the show’s frothy, frolicsome relentlessness.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2025
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Whether in the form of rosettes to frothy embroideries, floral tops are the move for a soft, feminine touch to denim and trousers.—
Laura Lajiness Kaupke,
refinery29.com,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This refusal could lead to a crisis with both Hamas and Egypt, the key mediator, at a delicate time for the already fragile truce.—
Nadine El-Bawab,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2025
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Glassware without a microwave-safe label should not be used, including non-tempered glass, antique or fragile glassware, or glass with metallic trims or decorations.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insubstantial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insubstantial. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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