substantive
adjective
; senses 3c & 4 also səb-ˈstan-tiv
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Definition of substantive
(Entry 1 of 2)
substantive
noun
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Definition of substantive (Entry 2 of 2)
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Other Words from substantive
Adjective
Noun
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transitive verb
Synonyms & Antonyms for substantive
Synonyms: Adjective
biggish, considerable, good, goodly, handsome, healthy, largish, major, respectable, significant, sizable (or sizeable), substantial, tidy
Antonyms: Adjective
inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, insubstantial, negligible, nominal
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Examples of substantive in a Sentence
Adjective
"This was not a drive-by P.R. stunt, and I actually thought it might be," said Representative Zach Wamp, Republican of Tennessee. "It was a substantive, in-depth discussion with our conference, and he's very effective." — Jackie Calmes & Carl Hulse, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2009 The first substantive issue that the Supreme Court considered in its Brown opinion was whether, as originally understood, the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited racial segregation in public schooling. The justices concluded that the historical record was inconclusive. — Randall Kennedy, New Republic, 5 & 12 July 2004 The common critique of art's pleasures and entertainments—that they are trivial, devoid of substantive value, and degrading of art's genuine worth—rests on ignoring this diversity by making two false assumptions: first, that there is basically one kind of aesthetic pleasure in art's entertainment and, secondly, that this pleasure is always a shallow and trivial one, which distracts us from interest in art's real meaning and truth. — Richard Shusterman, Let's Entertain: Life's Guilty Pleasures, 2000 These changes are more symbolic than substantive. No substantive changes were made to the document. There is no substantive reason to change the law.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Those talks would represent the first substantive working-level talks between Pyongyang and Washington since the Singapore summit (i.e., talks that aren’t about setting up a summit). — Ankit Panda, The New Republic, "The Tragedy of Trump Diplomacy," 9 Sep. 2019 Made several significant changes — seven new teams — as the number of substantive results increases. — Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, "My AP ballot: Clemson holds the top spot but LSU rises, Army returns, Cal and Colorado make their debuts," 8 Sep. 2019 Made several significant changes — seven new teams — as the number of substantive results increases. — Jon Wilner, The Denver Post, "My AP ballot: Clemson holds the top spot but LSU rises, Army returns, Cal and Colorado make their debuts," 8 Sep. 2019 Every so often an unknown letter or document signed by Locke is found, but identifying a substantive work is extremely rare. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Unknown John Locke Manuscript Found at a College in Maryland," 4 Sep. 2019 Despite the Bolsonaro administration’s heated rhetoric, top IBAMA officials say there have been no substantive changes to the way agents conduct operations in the field. — Felipe Fittipaldi, National Geographic, "Inside the faltering fight against illegal Amazon logging," 28 Aug. 2019 Some of the most substantive changes, meanwhile, will take place even deeper under the hood. — Louise Matsakis, WIRED, "The Android 10 Privacy and Security Upgrades You Should Know About," 22 Aug. 2019 The near-consensus came Wednesday during the first substantive meeting of the executive steering committee that is guiding the Justice Center redesign project. — Courtney Astolfi, cleveland.com, "Local leaders deciding fate of aging Cuyahoga County Justice Center agree they must adopt criminal justice reforms," 7 Aug. 2019 But anyone searching for substantive details about the candidates’ plans for desegregating America’s schools will be left wanting. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, "Bennet Steals the Moment From Harris and Biden on School Segregation," 31 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Obstruction of justice is a crime that is independent of any underlying or substantives crime that may have been committed. — Joyce White Vance, Time, "This Might Be the Most Important Exchange in the Mueller Testimony," 25 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'substantive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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