Substantial — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Substantial (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. having great meaning or lasting effect

   "substantial changes to the school dress code that made a lot of people unhappy"

   similar: big, consequential, earth-shattering, earthshaking, eventful, historic, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, monumental, much, significant, tectonic, weighty
   related: decisive, fatal, fateful, strategic, earnest, grave, heavy, serious, sincere, distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, valuable, worthwhile, worthy, distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, noble, notable, noteworthy, preeminent, prestigious, famous, notorious, renowned, all-important, central, critical, crucial, essential, key, pivotal, seminal, vital
   opposite: inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, negligible, slight, small, trifling, trivial, unimportant
   near: paltry, petty, worthless, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown

2. of a size greater than average of its kind

   "the amount he inherited was quite substantial, so he quit his job and set out to see the world"

   similar: big, biggish, boxcar, bulky, considerable, goodly, grand, great, handsome, hefty, hulking, husky, large, largish, outsize, oversize, sizable, tidy, voluminous
   related: astronomical, Brobdingnagian, bumper, Bunyanesque, cavernous, colossal, cosmic, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, gigantic, gross, hellacious, herculean, heroic, Himalayan, huge, humongous, immense, jumbo, king-size, leviathan, major, mammoth, massive, monolithic, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, pharaonic, prodigious, staggering, stupendous, super, super-duper, supersized, titanic, tremendous, vast, vasty, walloping, whacking, whopping, excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, immoderate, inordinate, abundant, ample, appreciable, copious, plentiful, fat, thick, capacious, commodious, roomy, spacious
   opposite: bantam, dinky, dwarf, dwarfish, little, puny, shrimpy, small, smallish, undersized
   near: diminutive, half-pint, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little bitty, microminiature, microscopic, mini, miniature, minuscule, minute, pint-size, pocket-size, pygmy, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, petite, slender, slight, slim, thin

3. relating to or composed of matter

   "the Land of Oz turned out to be a world of dreams, even less substantial than a rainbow"

   similar: concrete, material, physical
   related: bodily, carnal, corporal, corporeal, embodied, fleshly, apparent, appreciable, detectable, discernible, noticeable, observable, palpable, perceptible, seeable, sensible, tangible, touchable, visible, objective, phenomenal, bulky, heavy, hefty, massive, ponderous, solid, weighty
   opposite: immaterial, nonmaterial, nonphysical
   near: bodiless, discarnate, disembodied, formless, incorporeal, unbodied, ethereal, insubstantial, unsubstantial, impalpable, imperceptible, insensible, intangible, invisible, unnoticeable, airy, diaphanous, gossamery, tenuous, thin, vaporous, wispish, metaphysical, spiritual

4. sufficiently large in size, amount, or number to merit attention

   "there's been a substantial increase in attendance at girls' volleyball games ever since the start of their winning streak"

   similar: biggish, considerable, good, goodly, handsome, healthy, largish, major, respectable, significant, sizable, substantive, tidy
   related: big, bulky, hefty, hulking, outsize, oversize, voluminous, astronomical, bumper, colossal, elephantine, enormous, gigantic, great, herculean, huge, immense, jumbo, king-size, mammoth, massive, monstrous, monumental, prodigious, titanic, tremendous, whopping
   opposite: inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, insubstantial, negligible, nominal
   near: measly, minute, paltry, petty, picayune, picayunish, piddling, puny, trifling, trivial, unimportant, marginal, meager, slight, little, small, tiny, undersized, bitty, diminutive, miniature, pint-size, pocket, pocket-size, pygmy, smallish