Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use substantive in a sentence

33 example sentences · adjective, noun, verb

Substantive means of the essence or essential element of a thing. Example: “Substantive editing is never trivial, whereas some aspects of copyediting are trivial.”

Examples of substantive by meaning

adjectiveOf the essence or essential element of a thing.

  • In one sense the first debate achieved the worst of all worlds: it managed to be technical, even dull, without being substantive or especially honest.2012 October 6, “The first presidential debate: Back in the centre, back in the game”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 08...

adjectiveConstituting the substance of content rather than its style, and thus always nontrivial.

  • Substantive editing is never trivial, whereas some aspects of copyediting are trivial.
  • substantive changes made by the lawyers

adjectiveApplying to essential legal principles and rules of right.

  • So this test, this whole area of substantive due process, is tricky for some of the reasons you say.2025 October 16, Ross Douthat, quoting Amy Coney Barrett, “Amy Coney Barrett Is Looking Beyond the Trump Era”, in The New York Times, New...

More sentences with substantive

  • I found Tonya's speech heavy in Coulterisms but lacking in substantive arguments.From the entry Coulterism
  • That article was basically a bunch of fluff. It didn't say anything substantive.From the entry fluff
  • Either you have the substantive right at the relevant date, or you’ve lost the priority claim.2017 November 17, Annsley Merelle Ward, “Birss J in Accord v Research Corporation Technologies attempts to cut the red tape on the right…. From the entry takesy backsies
  • These epochal shifts contributed to lend specificity to the substantive rationality of the state — raison d'etat.2012, Yale H. Ferguson, R. J. Barry Jones, Political Space: Frontiers of Change and Governance in a Globalizing World, page 173. From the entry raison d'état
  • Philosophical behaviourism, in contrast, is an analytic view — a substantive theory of what mental states are.2007, Matt Carter, Minds and Computers, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, →ISBN, page 23. From the entry philosophical behaviourism
  • Mississippi and Missouri have notice requirements regarding nonrenewal of the franchise agreement, but no substantive requirements.2004, Rupert M Barkoff, Andrew C Selden, Fundamentals of franchising. From the entry nonrenewal
  • Then it was 'he's afraid to debate.' Now it's that he's not substantive enough.1999 December 9, Mark Z. Barabak, quoting David Carney, “Bush's Winning Glow Dims After Poor Debate Reviews”, in Los Angeles Times, Los…. From the entry frontrunneritis
  • Greek has the following parts of speech: substantives, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and particles.1956, Herbert Weir Smyth, Gordon M. Messing, “189. Parts of Speech”, in Greek Grammar, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, page 44. From the entry noun
  • In this Grammar noun is used to include both the substantive and the adjective.1956, Herbert Weir Smyth, Gordon M. Messing, “189. Parts of Speech”, in Greek Grammar, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, page 44. From the entry noun
  • Nor can I approve of the term employed by Torrend : onomatopoetic substantives.1912, Henri Alexandre Junod, The life of a South African tribe (Neuchatel: Attinger) p. 146 fn (1). From the entry onomatopoeiae
  • The long pendency of the case before this dismissal suggests deep disagreements among the justices on the substantive issues.2018, Rory Little, Opinion analysis: A DIG in Vogt', SCOTUSblog, May 29, 2018. From the entry pendency
  • Clarkson's examination of 'care' and Zimbler's consideration of 'substance' are useful interrogatives for Coetzee's substantive words (nouns and verbs).2017, Arthur Rose, “Introduction”, in Literary Cynics: Borges, Beckett, Coetzee, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, pages 27-28. From the entry enantioseme
  • The nonconsolidation plan rejected the debtors’ compromise plan and the complete substantive consolidation of the ad hoc group.2011 July 19, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Bankruptcy: Components of Inventory Change in the U.S. Housing Market: 2007-2009…. From the entry nonconsolidation
  • The content of the natural law is the substantive account of ways of living that bring humanity to its natural good.2010, Roger A. Shiner, “Law and Its Normativity”, in Dennis Patterson, editor, A Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, 2nd…. From the entry natural law
  • The application of substantive canons typically overenforces the Constitution.2010, Amy Coney Barrett, “SUBSTANTIVE CANONS AND FAITHFUL AGENCY”, in Boston University Law Review, volume 90, number 109, page 176. From the entry overenforcement
  • To attempt to remove the armaments before removing these substantive conflicts of interest is to put the cart before the horse.1957 December 2, “Corruption of the Mind”, in TIME, archived from the original on 21 Nov 2007. From the entry put the cart before the horse
  • As a substantive it means War Reparations.[1929 September 16, “Zeppelining”, in Time. From the entry ersatz
  • Although ideology is related to the propensity for a state to adopt stringent changes to campaign finance law, culture does not have a substantive effect.2014, Joel W. Paddock, “Local and State Political Parties”, in Donald P. Haider-Markel, editor, The Oxford Handbook of State and Local…. From the entry biennium
  • As noted in the last chapter, you should tighten up your argument and prose when you revise the first draft for substantive change.2012, Stanley Chodorow, Gordon Harvey, Writing a Successful Research Paper, and, Writing with Sources, →ISBN. From the entry tighten up
  • Therefore the actual and substantive decision authority for public credit lies with the Ministry of Finance which decides on the credit-worthiness of every public utility.2012, Hans-Hermann Francke, Eberhart Ketzel, Hans-Helmut Kotz, Handbook of Public Credit in Europe, page 231. From the entry public credit
  • Thus, by the self-subversive logic of evolution in legal ideas, we derationalize procedure the better to vindicate the rationalization of substantive law.1997, Richard Rawlings, Law, Society, and Economy: Centenary Essays for the London School of Economics and Political Science 1895-1995…. From the entry derationalize
  • Neighbours enact their substantive noun when there′s a neighbour′s sickness in the night; as friends do theirs, the cindered and the green times through.1973, Ernest Buckler, Nova Scotia: Window on the Sea, page 126. From the entry neighbour
  • Because some thysanopterists have not recognized that the substantive Thrips is singular and masculine, we have changed the endings of incorrectly declined specific names.1969, Robbin W. Thorp, Systematics and Ecology of Bees of the Subgenus Diandrena (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). From the entry thysanopterist
  • When we examine common words, we find that, broadly speaking, proper names stand for particulars, while other substantives, adjectives, prepositions, and verbs stand for universals.1912, Bertrand Russel, The Problems of Philosophy, Chapter 9. From the entry universal
  • Substantives they are certainly not, as they pertain to none of the eight classes and have nothing of the nature of nouns.1912, Henri Alexandre Junod, The life of a South African tribe (Neuchatel: Attinger) p. 146 fn (1). From the entry onomatopoeiae
  • It analyzes exceptionalism in terms of institutional authority, adjudicative method, and substantive doctrine, and it shows how exceptionalism derives from the idea of autochthonous Native sovereignty.2024 September 30, Michael Doran, “EXCEPTIONALISM AND ASSIMILATIONISM IN FEDERAL INDIAN LAW”, in Stanford Law School, volume 20, number 2…. From the entry autochthonous
  • Congress considers the inchoate offenses of attempt and conspiracy, even conspiracy without an overt act, to be just as serious as the federal substantive drug offenses which they contemplate.2006, United States v. McKenney, 450 F.3d 39 (1st Cir. 2006). From the entry inchoate
  • He went so far as to change substantive policy decisions after they had been leaked to the press in order to undermine the leaker and embarrass the leakee.2005, Andrew Rudalevige, The new imperial presidency, page 104. From the entry leakee
  • It was not, however, among the verbs and adjectives that the American word-coiners of the first half of the century achieved their gaudiest innovations, but among the substantives.1919, H. L. Mencken, The American Language, New York: Knopf, Chapter 3, §3, p. 80. From the entry coiner

Meaning of substantive

  1. adjective Of the essence or essential element of a thing.
  2. adjective Constituting the substance of content rather than its style, and thus always nontrivial.
  3. adjective Having substance; enduring; solid; firm; substantial.

Full definition of substantive

Questions about substantive in a sentence

How do you use substantive in a sentence?
Substantive is used as an adjective, noun and verb. For example: “Substantive editing is never trivial, whereas some aspects of copyediting are trivial.”
What is a short sentence with substantive?
“substantive changes made by the lawyers”
What does substantive mean?
Substantive means of the essence or essential element of a thing.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: substantive (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use substantive in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/substantive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.