overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

substance.

Physical matter; material.

9 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈsʌbstəns/US[ˈsʌbstənts]US
  1. Physical matter; material.

    countable · uncountable
  2. Physical matter; material. A form of matter that has constant chemical composition and characteristic properties.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The essential part of anything; the most vital part.

    countable · uncountable
  4. Substantiality; solidity; firmness.

    countable · uncountable
    Some textile fabrics have little substance.
  5. Material possessions; estate; property; resources.

    countable · uncountable
    a man of substance
  6. Drugs (illegal narcotics)

    countable · uncountable
    substance abuse
  7. Ousia, essence; underlying reality or hypostasis in the philosophical sense.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English substance, from Old French substance, from Latin substantia (“substance, essence”), from substāns, present active participle of substō (“exist”, literally “stand under”), from sub + stō (“stand”). Displaced native Old English andweorc.

verb/ˈsʌbstəns/US[ˈsʌbstənts]US
  1. To give substance to; to make real or substantial.

    rare · transitive
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English substance, from Old French substance, from Latin substantia (“substance, essence”), from substāns, present active participle of substō (“exist”, literally “stand under”), from sub + stō (“stand”). Displaced native Old English andweorc.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

substance has 9 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

substance studiosubstance workshello, substance

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.