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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spiritual
not composed of matter
energy is insubstantial
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 insubstantial
Nineteen is certainly a lot lower than 42, but, um, 19 over the course of 94 episodes of television is not exactly and insubstantial amount.
—
Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 28 Apr. 2025
YouTube videos as addictive and insubstantial as cotton candy needed my immediate intervention.
—Michael Alcée, Hartford Courant, 13 Apr. 2025
Bashar was an ophthalmology student in London, a weak-chinned introvert who was widely seen as a bit insubstantial.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
But, taking these study findings from here all the way down the drug development pipeline to where there’s a safe and effective new drug on the market is expected to take a long time and a not insubstantial amount of money.
—New Atlas, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insubstantial
Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 28 Apr. 2025
YouTube videos as addictive and insubstantial as cotton candy needed my immediate intervention.
—Michael Alcée, Hartford Courant, 13 Apr. 2025
Bashar was an ophthalmology student in London, a weak-chinned introvert who was widely seen as a bit insubstantial.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
But, taking these study findings from here all the way down the drug development pipeline to where there’s a safe and effective new drug on the market is expected to take a long time and a not insubstantial amount of money.
—New Atlas, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insubstantial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insubstantial
Adjective
-
The hit isn’t unsubstantial: In 2024, textile exports to the United States accounted for 10.7 percent of China’s total textile exports, valued at $14.8 billion, and 22.7 percent of China’s total apparel exports, or $36.1 billion’s worth.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
5 May 2025
-
The algorithm fed the Giants pitcher a savory yet unsubstantial diet of short-form content.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The series invites fans on a metaphysical road trip through the West Coast sunset with a euphoric lineup designed to illuminate audiences and create space for community, connection and spiritual transformation.—
Caroline Tell,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
-
In Austin as elsewhere, the Roman Catholic faithful gathered Monday to mourn the death of their spiritual head, Pope Francis. More than 100 parishioners attended noon Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Austin.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
15 July 2025
Adjective
-
Although its leaves are thin, flimsy, and far from succulent, their dense growth habit does not allow water to escape through them from the soil surface.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
5 July 2025
-
Some students who did go to school had to wait in the cold for 30 minutes or more for delayed buses, or walk in flimsy tennis shoes across high patches of snow and ice to get to and from school.—
Madeline Mitchell,
The Enquirer,
2 July 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
-
To the casual observer, the data industry can seem incorporeal, its products conjured out of weightless bits.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Oct. 2024
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
-
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
-
The sense of evil has nothing cosmic or metaphysical about it; there’s no grandeur and no wonder to Gunn’s universe and, although there’s much discussion of the defining quality of one’s actions and choices, the film’s superheroes seem thin, constrained, and undefined.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 July 2025
-
Vendors will offer beads, minerals, gemstones, custom jewelry, fossils, artifacts, and metaphysical stones.—
Joe Rassel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
The frothy suds festively collected like snow on clothing and in people’s hair.—
Karie Angell Luc,
Chicago Tribune,
21 July 2025
-
That frothy film and its title song, which rose to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1961, put Fort Lauderdale on the spring break map — a rowdy reputation the city has distanced itself from for decades.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
17 July 2025
Adjective
-
During the chandelier's cleaning process, the office said workers wear gloves to minimize human contact and ensure its integrity is not jeopardized because it is made up of soft and fragile materials.—
Keelin Fisher,
Arkansas Online,
21 July 2025
-
Real grasscloth wallpaper, made from natural fibers like jute or seagrass, is extremely fragile and sensitive to moisture, paste, and pressure.—
Lauren Bengtson,
Better Homes & Gardens,
19 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insubstantial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insubstantial. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share