GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Substance , n. [F., fr. L. substantia, fr. substare to be under or present, to stand firm; sub under + stare to stand. See Stand.]
   That which underlies all outward manifestations; substratum; the permanent subject or cause of phenomena, whether material or spiritual; that in which properties inhere; that which is real, in distinction from that which is apparent; the abiding part of any existence, in distinction from any accident; that which constitutes anything what it is; real or existing essence.
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   These cooks, how they stamp, and strain, and grind,
   And turn substance into accident!
   Chaucer.
   
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   Heroic virtue did his actions guide,
   And he the substance, not the appearance, chose.
   Dryden.
   
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   The most important element in any existence; the characteristic and essential components of anything; the main part; essential import; purport.
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   This edition is the same in substance with the Latin.
   Bp. Burnet.
   
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   It is insolent in words, in manner; but in substance it is not only insulting, but alarming.
   Burke.
   
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   Body; matter; material of which a thing is made; hence, substantiality; solidity; firmness; as, the substance of which a garment is made; some textile fabrics have little substance.
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   Material possessions; estate; property; resources.
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   And there wasted his substance with riotous living.
   Luke xv. 13.
   
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   Thy substance, valued at the highest rate,
   Can not amount unto a hundred marks.
   Shak.
   
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   We are destroying many thousand lives, and exhausting our substance, but not for our own interest.
   Swift.
   
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   (Theol.) Same as Hypostasis, 2.
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2.       
   Substance, v. t. To furnish or endow with substance; to supply property to; to make rich. [Obs.]
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