substancenoun
uk/ˈsʌb.stəns/us/ˈsʌb.stəns/substance noun (MATERIAL)
B2 [ C or U ] material with particular physical characteristics:
an organic/chemical substance
What sort of substance could withstand those temperatures?
illegal substance formal
an illegal drug
More examples
- a natural substance
- This substance is so radioactive that it glows in the dark.
- This substance stretches to any shape you want.
- Rubber is a flexible substance.
- Two days after he'd been exposed to the substance, a painful rash erupted on his neck.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Mixing and mixtures
- be neither one thing nor the other idiom
- beat
- blend
- blend in/blend into sth
- brew
- cocktail
- concoction
- cross-fertilization
- decoction
- emulsion
- impure
- mashup
- meld
- mingle
- mixture
- neither
- preparation
- roll
- rolled into one idiom
- synthesis
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Categories and varieties
Drugs - general words
substance noun (IMPORTANCE)
C2 [ U ] the most important part of what someone has said or written:
Later that year, the substance of their secret conversation appeared in a newspaper article.
[ U ] importance, seriousness, or relationship to real facts:
There is no substance in/to the allegation.
This new information gives substance to the stories we have heard.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Importance - general words
- cornerstone
- focus
- grand
- gravitas
- importance
- magnitude
- meaning
- meaningful
- momentous
- proportion
- seniority
- seriousness
- significance
- simple
- status
- substantial
- supremacy
- transcendent
- value
- weight
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