substance

[suhb-stuh ns] /ˈsʌb stəns/
noun
1.
that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material:
form and substance.
2.
a species of matter of definite chemical composition:
a chalky substance.
3.
controlled substance.
4.
the subject matter of thought, discourse, study, etc.
5.
the actual matter of a thing, as opposed to the appearance or shadow; reality.
6.
substantial or solid character or quality:
claims lacking in substance.
7.
consistency; body:
soup without much substance.
8.
the meaning or gist, as of speech or writing.
9.
something that has separate or independent existence.
10.
Philosophy.
  1. something that exists by itself and in which accidents or attributes inhere; that which receives modifications and is not itself a mode; something that is causally active; something that is more than an event.
  2. the essential part of a thing; essence.
  3. a thing considered as a continuing whole.
11.
possessions, means, or wealth:
to squander one's substance.
12.
Linguistics. the articulatory or acoustic reality or the perceptual manifestation of a word or other construction (distinguished from form).
13.
a standard of weights for paper.
Idioms
14.
in substance,
  1. concerning the essentials; substantially.
  2. actually; really:
    That is in substance how it appeared to me.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English < Latin substantia substance, essence (literally, that which stands under, i.e., underlies), equivalent to sub- sub- + -stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre to stand) + -ia -ia (see -ance)
Related forms
substanceless, adjective
Synonyms
4. theme, subject. 4, 5, 8. essence. 8. significance, import, pith.
Synonym Study
1. See matter.
British Dictionary definitions for in substance

substance

/ˈsʌbstəns/
noun
1.
the tangible matter of which a thing consists
2.
a specific type of matter, esp a homogeneous material with a definite composition
3.
the essence, meaning, etc, of a written or spoken thought
4.
solid or meaningful quality
5.
material density: a vacuum has no substance
6.
material possessions or wealth: a man of substance
7.
(philosophy)
  1. the supposed immaterial substratum that can receive modifications and in which attributes and accidents inhere
  2. a thing considered as a continuing whole that survives the changeability of its properties
8.
(Christian Science) that which is eternal
9.
a euphemistic term for any illegal drug
10.
in substance, with regard to the salient points
Derived Forms
substanceless, adjective
Word Origin
C13: via Old French from Latin substantia, from substāre, from sub- + stāre to stand
Word Origin and History for in substance

substance

n.

c.1300, "essential nature," from Old French substance (12c.), from Latin substantia "being, essence, material," from substans, present participle of substare "stand firm, be under or present," from sub "up to, under" + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). A loan-translation of Greek hypostasis. Meaning "any kind of corporeal matter" is first attested mid-14c. Sense of "the matter of a study, discourse, etc." first recorded late 14c.

in substance in Medicine

substance sub·stance (sŭb'stəns)
n.

  1. That which has mass and occupies space; matter.

  2. A material of a particular kind or constitution.

Idioms and Phrases with in substance

in substance

.
In reality, essentially, as in The Archbishop of Salzburg was in substance a temporal authority as well. [ Late 1300s ]
.
In essence, basically, as in I don't remember all the details, but in substance this was the plan. [ Late 1400s ]

substance

see: