substantial

English

Etymology

From Old French substantiel.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /səbˈstænʃəl/
Audio (Mid-Atlantic US): (file)
Audio (Southern England): (file)

Adjective

substantial (comparative more substantial, superlative most substantial)

Having a substance; actually existing.
substantial life
Not imaginary; real; actual; true; veritable.
- 1850s, Cardinal John Henry Newman, The Rise and Progress of Universities
  to do some substantial good, is the compensation for much incidental imperfection
Corporeal; material; firm.
Having good substance; strong; stout; solid; firm.
substantial cloth

a substantial fence or wall
Possessed of goods or an estate; moderately wealthy.
a substantial freeholder
Large in size, quantity, or value; ample; significant.
He inherited a substantial amount of money from his uncle.

A substantial number of people went to the event.
Most important; essential.
Satisfying; having sufficient substance to be nourishing or filling.
I don't just want a snack; I need something substantial.

Teddy had a few crackers in his backpack, but he needed something more substantial if he was to survive a three-day trek.

Derived terms

Translations

having substance, actually existing

Azerbaijani: maddi (az)
Bulgarian: материален (bg) (materialen), веществен (bg) (veštestven)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 物質的／物质的 (zh) (wùzhì de, wùzhí de)
Czech: hmotný (cs)
Finnish: todellinen (fi)
French: substantiel (fr)
Galician: substancial (gl)
Greek: ουσιώδης (el) (ousiódis)
Hungarian: lényeges (hu)
Italian: sostanziale (it)
Japanese: 物質的な (busshitsu-teki na), 現実の (ja) (genjitsu no)
Maori: whaikiko
Portuguese: substancial (pt)
Romanian: substanțial (ro)
Russian: веще́ственный (ru) (veščéstvennyj), материа́льный (ru) (materiálʹnyj)
Spanish: sustancial (es)

not imaginary; real; veritable

Arabic: حَقِيقِيّ (ḥaqīqiyy)
Bulgarian: реален (bg) (realen), действителен (bg) (dejstvitelen)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 實際／实际 (zh) (shíjì)
Czech: opravdový (cs)
Finnish: todellinen (fi)
Greek: ουσιώδης (el) (ousiódis)
Hungarian: való (hu), valódi (hu)
Japanese: 現実の (ja) (genjitsu no), 実際の (ja) (jissai no)
Russian: настоя́щий (ru) (nastojáščij), реа́льный (ru) (reálʹnyj), действи́тельный (ru) (dejstvítelʹnyj)

corporeal

Bulgarian: веществен (bg) (veštestven)
Czech: hmotný (cs)
Finnish: todellinen (fi)
Greek: ουσιώδης (el) (ousiódis)
Italian: consistente (it)
Japanese: 現実の (ja) (genjitsu no), 実際の (ja) (jissai no)
Russian: веще́ственный (ru) (veščéstvennyj), материа́льный (ru) (materiálʹnyj)

having good substance; strong; firm

Bulgarian: солиден (bg) (soliden)
Czech: bytelný (cs)
Finnish: tukeva (fi), tuhti (fi)
Galician: substancial (gl)
Hungarian: szilárd (hu), tartós (hu)
Irish: téagartha
Italian: sostanzioso (it), forte (it)
Japanese: 堅固な (ja) (kenko na), 頑丈な (ja) (ganjō na)
Portuguese: substancial (pt), substancioso
Russian: про́чный (ru) (próčnyj), кре́пкий (ru) (krépkij), соли́дный (ru) (solídnyj)
Scottish Gaelic: susbainteach
Spanish: enjundioso (es)

possessed of goods or an estate

Bulgarian: заможен (bg) (zamožen)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 殷實 (zh) (yīnshí)
Finnish: vauras (fi)
Hungarian: gazdag (hu), vagyonos (hu), tehetős (hu), jómódú (hu)
Japanese: 裕福な (ja) (yūfuku na)
Russian: соли́дный (ru) (solídnyj), зажи́точный (ru) (zažítočnyj), обеспе́ченный (ru) (obespéčennyj), состоя́тельный (ru) (sostojátelʹnyj)

large in size, quantity or value

Azerbaijani: dolğun
Bulgarian: значителен (bg) (značitelen)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 大量 (zh) (dàliàng)
Czech: podstatný (cs)
Finnish: huomattava (fi), runsas (fi)
French: substantiel (fr)
German: wesentlich (de)
Hungarian: tekintélyes (hu), bőséges (hu)
Irish: suntasach, mór, nach beag
Italian: sostanzioso (it), considerevole (it)
Japanese: 大量の (ja) (tairyō no)
Portuguese: substancial (pt)
Russian: значи́тельный (ru) (značítelʹnyj), суще́ственный (ru) (suščéstvennyj)
Scottish Gaelic: susbainteach

most important; essential

Bulgarian: съществен (bg) (sǎštestven)
Czech: podstatný (cs)
Finnish: oleellinen (fi), olennainen (fi)
French: substantiel (fr)
German: wesentlich (de), essenziell (de), substanziell (de)
Greek: ουσιαστικός (el) (ousiastikós)
Hungarian: lényegi (hu), alapvető (hu)
Italian: sostanziale (it), significativo (it), notevole (it)
Japanese: 実質的な (jisshitsuteki na)
Portuguese: substancial (pt)
Russian: суще́ственный (ru) (suščéstvennyj), ва́жный (ru) (vážnyj)
Scottish Gaelic: susbainteach

satisfying

French: substantiel (fr)
Italian: corposo (it), sostanzioso (it)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic: ^{(please verify)} حَقِيقِيّ (ḥaqīqiyy)
Dutch: ^{(please verify)} substantieel (nl)
German: ^{(please verify)} wesentlich (de)
Italian: ^{(please verify)} sostanziale (it)
Korean: ^{(please verify)} 실재하는 (siljaehaneun)
Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 實際／实际 (zh) (shíjì), ^{(please verify)} 实际 (zh) (shíjì)
Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} vesentlig
Spanish: ^{(please verify)} substancial (es)
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} väsentlig (sv)

Noun

substantial (plural substantials)

Anything having substance; an essential part.