Material and Substance

Material

Material noun - The basic elements from which something can be developed.
Usage example: she's clearly movie star material

Substance is a synonym for material in matter topic. In some cases you can use "Substance" instead a noun "Material", when it comes to topics like object. popular alternative

Substance

Substance noun - The basic elements from which something can be developed.
Usage example: many thought that the mayor's speech lacked substance because specific proposals for solving the city's problems were few

Material is a synonym for substance in matter topic. You can use "Material" instead a noun "Substance", if it concerns topics such as entity, object, content. popular alternative

How words are described

rare rare material rare substance
special special material special substance
similar similar material similar substance
related related material related substance
Other adjectives: common, certain, solid, raw, actual, little, dark, organic, new, different, radioactive, flammable, magical.

Both words in one sentence

  • A substance or material which causes pain, injury or death to anyone who makes skin contact with it.
  • The Shrink For that matter, she thought Batman's "multiple disorders" were driven by, as detailed from bonus material in the collector's edition of the first game, genetic predisposition and substance abuse.
    Source: The Shrink
  • Unobtainium This is a real substance: a type of "degenerate matter" composed entirely of neutrons, thought to be what neutron stars are made of — but since even a thimbleful would weigh millions of tons, its usefulness as a material is rather limited.
    Source: Unobtainium
Cite this Source
Substance and Material. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/material/substance
Material & Substance. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/material/substance>.
Substance or Material. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/material/substance.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "material" and "substance" have occurred on timeline