unsubstantialadj.
/ˌʌnsəbˈstanʃl/, U.S. /ˌənsəbˈstæn(t)ʃəl/ 1. Having no real basis or foundation in fact.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [adjective]
unrightlyeOE
leasea900
falsec1175
untruec1370
untruefulc1380
erroneousc1400
fallacec1400
wrongc1420
unsubstantialc1455
wrongfulc1470
unrighteous1507
improper1531
perverse1531
mistaken1540
square1549
truthless1568
uncorrect1568
misconceiveda1612
errorous1633
swervinga1638
tralatitious1645
out of the way1676
wrongous1768
aberrated1834
aberrational1837
unsubstantiated1837
unevidenced1842
non-realistic1882
unsubstantiate1890
screwed-up1942
disauthentic1960
c1455 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 114 Þe dyuersite..was not but in wordis oonli and in fame of þe peple wiþout þe trouþ, which ful oft is founde ful vntrewe, vnsubstancial and perilose.
1715 N. Rowe Lady Jane Gray iv. 48 The vain Dream Of Empire, and a Crown,..With all those unsubstantial empty Forms.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xiii. 399 These deep but unsubstantial meditations.
1810 R. Southey Curse of Kehama vii. 69 Nor build on unsubstantial hope thy trust.
1845 J. Phillips & C. G. B. Daubeny Geol. in Encycl. Metrop. VI. 688/2 Every new, fanciful, and unsubstantial theory.
1883 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 11 532 If the counter-claim is frivolous and unsubstantial.
2.
a. Having no bodily or material substance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > unsubstantiality or abstractness > [adjective]
flittingc1374
aerya1398
bottomlessa1413
hollowa1529
flittering1549
wanzing1571
aerial1581
slight1585
flit1590
windy1593
filmy1594
tenuous1597
unsubstantial1597
yeasty1598
thingless1599
airy1600
spare1602
spongy1603
insubstantial1607
baselessa1616
thina1616
insolid1618
insubstantiate1621
tenuious1634
bubble1635
thin-spun1638
subventaneous1646
unsubstanceda1658
whipped1673
aericala1678
huffy1678
blatherya1693
naughty1696
substanceless1784
vapoury1818
aeriform1827
airified1837
blow-away1858
non-substantial1858
unbased1860
evasive1881
stuffless1896
fabricless1905
lighter-than-air1909
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. iii. 103 O I beleeue that vnsubstanciall death, Is amorous. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare King Lear (1623) iv. i. 7 Welcome then, Thou vnsubstantiall ayre that I embrace.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 396 Darkness..brought in lowring night Her shadowy off-spring unsubstantial both. View more context for this quotation
1745 E. Young Consolation 7 What Lengths of far-fam'd Ages..Roll along In unsubstantial Images of Air?
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. III. xxix. 224 Time and space, which in themselves are unsubstantial, inanimate, and destitute of intelligence.
1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. iii. 108 Of all the phantoms..Most unsubstantial, unessential shade, Was earthly Fame.
1871 L. Stephen Playground of Europe ii. 82 Hill and plain, apparently unsubstantial as a mountain mist.
1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche i. vi. 3 To man's purer unsubstantial part The brightness of her presence was addressed.
b. Lacking in substance or solidity. Also in combinations.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > weakness > [adjective]
tender?c1225
feeble1340
infirmc1374
slight1393
weakc1400
sperec1440
silly1587
unsound1590
immaterial1609
paper1615
unsubstantiala1617
reedy1628
slighty1662
insufficient1700
flimsy1702
bandbox1727
unconfirmed1752
insubstantial1767
gossamery1790
thread-paper1803
gossamer1806
slimsy1845
unendurable1879
bandboxy1891
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > slight > slight or insubstantial
leanc1325
light1534
rushy1579
slight1585
smattering1589
exile1610
unmassy1665
insubstantial1767
flimsy1780
tenuousa1817
unsubstantial1825
gaseous1846
slimline1973
lite1986
a1617 S. Hieron Penance for Sinne in Wks. (1620) II. 363 If you shall pill it [sc. a rush], what is vnder it but a kind of spongious, vnsubstantiall substance?
1773 J. Hawkesworth Acct. Voy. Southern Hemisphere III. iii. xi. 690 They taste not unlike a green cocoa-nut, and, like them, probably they yield a nutriment that is watry and unsubstantial.
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan II. 195 Wasted away, in her unsubstantial proportions.
1842 C. Dickens Amer. Notes I. iii. 61 The suburbs are..even more unsubstantial-looking than the city.
1848 J. S. Mill Princ. Polit. Econ. i. xi. §3. 203 We can scarcely conceive more unsubstantial or temporary fabrics.
Derivatives
unsubˈstantialness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [noun]
falseness1303
falselekea1350
untrothc1386
falsehooda1400
untruth1439
mensongec1450
fallax1530
falsity1579
fallacy1590
impropriety1611
improperness1612
wrongc1620
fallaciousness1644
fallacity1648
untrueness1652
unsubstantiality1838
unsubstantialness1860
incorrectitude1898
1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 465 The unsubstantialness of it all, the unsubstantiality of his lies.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.c1455