insubstantial

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in·sub·stan·tial

(ĭn′səb-stăn′shəl)

adj.

1. Not firm or solid; weak or flimsy: a shed made of insubstantial materials.

2. Very small or negligible, as in importance, size, or amount: an insubstantial volume of traffic.

3. Lacking or appearing to lack substance or reality: "the insubstantial vapor of an autumn field" (Loren Eiseley).

in′sub·stan′ti·al′i·ty (-shē-ăl′ĭ-tē) n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

insubstantial

(ˌɪnsəbˈstænʃəl)

adj

1. not substantial; flimsy, tenuous, or slight

2. imaginary; unreal

ˌinsubˌstantiˈality n

ˌinsubˈstantially adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•sub•stan•tial

(ˌɪn səbˈstæn ʃəl)

adj.

1. not substantial or real; lacking substance.

2. not solid or firm; weak; flimsy.

3. not substantial in amount or size; inconsiderable.

[1600–10; < Late Latin]

in`sub•stan`ti•al′i•ty, n.

in`sub•stan′tial•ly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	insubstantial - lacking material form or substance; unreal; "as insubstantial as a dream"; "an insubstantial mirage on the horizon" unsubstantial, unreal nonmaterial, immaterial - not consisting of matter; "immaterial apparitions"; "ghosts and other immaterial entities" substantial, material, real - having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary; "the substantial world"; "a mere dream, neither substantial nor practical"; "most ponderous and substantial things"- Shakespeare
	2.	insubstantial - lacking in nutritive value; "the jejune diets of the very poor" jejune unwholesome - detrimental to physical or moral well-being; "unwholesome food"; "unwholesome habits like smoking"

insubstantial

adjective

1. flimsy, thin, weak, slight, frail, feeble, tenuous Her limbs were insubstantial, almost transparent.
flimsy strong, solid, substantial, firm, weighty

2. imaginary, unreal, fanciful, immaterial, ephemeral, illusory, incorporeal, chimerical Their thoughts seemed as insubstantial as smoke.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

insubstantial

adjective

1. Having no body, form, or substance:

bodiless, discarnate, disembodied, immaterial, incorporeal, metaphysical, nonphysical, spiritual, unbodied, uncorporal, unsubstantial.

2. Having little substance or significance; not solidly based:

feeble, flimsy, tenuous, unsubstantial.

3. Not physically strong:

decrepit, delicate, feeble, flimsy, fragile, frail, infirm, puny, unsound, unsubstantial, weak, weakly.

Translations

incorporeo

insubstantial

[ˌɪnsəbˈstænʃəl] ADJ (gen) → insustancial; [meal] → poco sustancioso

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

insubstantial

[ˌɪnsəbˈstænʃ^əl] adj [amount, sum] → négligeable; [evidence] → pas concluant(e)
The evidence against her was insubstantial → Les preuves réunies contre elle n'étaient pas concluantes.
a not insubstantial amount of money → une somme plutôt rondelette

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

insubstantial

adj → wenig substanziell or substantiell; fear, hopes, accusation, rumour → gegenstandslos; argument → haltlos; amount → gering(fügig); meal, plot, evidence → dürftig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

insubstantial

[ˌɪnsəbˈstænʃ/əl] adj (structure) → poco solido/a; (evidence) → inconsistente; (vision) → irreale

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in classic literature ?

So feeble and insubstantial did he feel himself that he repeated the word aloud.

All things had turned to ghosts; the whole mass of the world was insubstantial vapor, surrounding the solitary spark in his mind, whose burning point he could remember, for it burnt no more.

View in context

It was worse when it began to be clothed upon with detestable attributes; and out of the shifting, insubstantial mists that had so long baffled his eye, there leaped up the sudden, definite presentment of a fiend.

View in context

Zeena herself, from an oppressive reality, had faded into an insubstantial shade.

View in context

Combat is an insubstantial button-mashing affair while the unique style of each fighter fails to bring any real difference.

Ambitious but brawl fest lacks any real punch

Combat is an insubstantial button-mashing affair, while the unique style of each fighter fails to bring any real difference.

Ambitious, but brawl fest lacks any real punch

Terming the reports of doping breach as "insubstantial" in nature, the club stated that they will not address the evidence presented.

Real Madrid deny Sergio Ramos' failed doping test

Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair's sitcom - about the ongoing hassles and headaches suffered by a couple of townies (Steve, played by Dee, and Nicky, by Kerry Godliman) who have swapped city life for the countryside - can seem so slow and insubstantial.

BAD Move (ITV, Wednesday[...]; THE TOP TV TOPICS

Mr Justice Mostyn said the social worker's criticisms were "utterly insubstantial" and "obviously inconsequential".

Mum's eight-year-old son taken into care 'because he didn't like his haircut'; A council argued the mother failed to meet her son's 'emotional needs' because she didn't take him for an ice cream

The main issue is whether the vacation voucher benefit is considered insubstantial or substantial.

Vacation vouchers and other benefits as incentives: special tax considerations

Not that "The Gin Game" is as insubstantial as the contents of that directory.

The Gin Game

Despite being low-key and somewhat insubstantial, this quirky comedy earns a whole lot of points thanks to Frank Langella's bravura performance and the sly, subversive wit that lurks just below the surface.