substantive
US/ˈsʌbstəntɪv/
substantive adjective: of the essence or essential element of a thing. Also the ellipsis of noun substantive or substantive noun.
Adjective
substantive (comparative more substantive, superlative most substantive)
- Of the essence or essential element of a thing.
- substantive information
- 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 Mar 2023
- Synonyms:
- essential, in essence
- Constituting 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
- Having substance; enduring; solid; firm; substantial.
- Once more then, strength and magnitude are qualities which impress the imagination in a powerful and substantive manner;1836 [1829], William Hazlitt, “Definition of wit”, in Literary Remains of the Late William Hazlitt, page 19
- Synonyms:
- meaty, substantial
- Antonyms:
- superficial, trivial
- Applying to essential legal principles and rules of right.
- substantive law
- So this test, this whole area of substantive due process, is tricky for some of the reasons you say. That’s been a criticism of the doctrine in general and a criticism of the general notion that we can have rights that the Constitution doesn’t specify, precisely because of the kind of inquiry that...2025 October 16, Ross Douthat, quoting Amy Coney Barrett, “Amy Coney Barrett Is Looking Beyond the Trump Era”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC...
- Antonyms:
- adjective, procedural
- Not needing the use of a mordant to be made fast to that which is being dyed.
- Antonyms:
- adjective
- Depending on itself; independent.
- Hee therefore taking into Conſideration, how ſufficient and ſuſstantiue this Land was, to maintaine it ſelfe without any aid (at all) of the foreigner; […]1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “New Atlantis. A Worke Vnfinished.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn]...
- Of or pertaining to a substantive.
- Synonyms:
- substantival
- Actually and legally held, as distinct from an acting, temporary or honorary rank or appointment.
Noun
substantive (plural substantives)
Verb
substantive (third-person singular simple present substantives, present participle substantiving, simple past and past participle substantived)
- To make a word belonging to another part of speech into a substantive (that is, a noun) or use it as a noun.
- Synonyms:
- substantivize, nominalize
Also used as
substantive is also the ellipsis of noun substantive or substantive noun.
Examples of substantive in a sentence
- I found Tonya's speech heavy in Coulterisms but lacking in substantive arguments.
- That article was basically a bunch of fluff. It didn't say anything substantive.
- Either you have the substantive right at the relevant date, or you’ve lost the priority claim.
Synonyms of substantive
Antonyms
Forms of substantive
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more substantive |
| superlative | most substantive |
| Noun | |
| plural | substantives |
| alternative abbreviation | subst. |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | substantives |
| present participle | substantiving |
| past participle | substantived |
| past | substantived |
Origin of substantive
From Middle English substantif, from Old French substantif.
Words formed from substantive
- common substantive noun
- insubstantive
- nonsubstantive
- substantive proper
- substantive adjective
- substantive case
- substantive due process
- substantive genitive
- substantive law
- substantively
- substantiveness
- substantive verb
- substantivisation
- substantivity
- unsubstantive
- substantivise
- substantivize
- substantival
- substantivally
- verbal substantive
Phrases with substantive
Questions about substantive
- What does substantive mean?
- Substantive means of the essence or essential element of a thing.
- What part of speech is substantive?
- Substantive can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce substantive?
- Substantive is pronounced /ˈsʌbstəntɪv/ (US).
Words near substantive in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: substantive (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-substantive.wav.
Cite this entry: “substantive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/substantive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.