"What's the matter?" asked the little white rabbit.
Source: tatoeba (1507)
Matter
/ˈmæt.ə/
Synonyms for "matter" (451 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (91)
Noun(23 words)
materialsubstanceaffairaffectbe importantcarrycausachemicalcivics topicclass topicclassroom matterscohort of physics learnerscompletely unrelated topicconcern parentsconcerning the topiccountcount componentscount descriptioncount errorscount objects
Show 3 more words
count partscount wordcounting concept
activitiesactivityadoaffairaffairsairambitionamountamount to somethingamplitudeannoyanceanxietyargumentarticleaspectaspirationatomatomic particlesatomsautograph
Show 43 more words
bagbasisbe featuredbe prominentbe somebodybe somethingbeingbesetmentbodybotherbrainchildbrute matterbuilding blockbulkburdenbusinesscallingcan of wormscarry weightcasecausechapterchemical elementchylecircumstancecolostrumcommercecomplicationcomponentcomposed mattercompositioncomputer printoutconcernconcernmentconditionconsequenceconsiderationconstituentcontentcontextcopycorecount
Adjective(1 words)
catalan matèria
Preposition(1 words)
concerning issues
Strong matches (135)
Noun(20 words)
Adjective(7 words)
counting-onlyentire substanceitalian materialargest countlatin materialatin materia topicsmain academic subject
cruxcut icecut some icedatadatumdead matterdetaildifficultydilemmadisadvantagedischargedistillatedistillationdocumentdoingdown-to-earthdraftdraughtdraughtsmandraughty
Show 87 more words
earthedited versionelementelementary particleelementary unitelixiremployemploymentengrossmentenigmaenterpriseentityepisodeessayessenceessentialseventevilextentfabricfacetfactfactorfair copyfesterfesteringfictionfinal draftfinished versionfirefirst draftflimsyfocus of attentionfocus of interestforcefunctionfundamental particleget top billinggistgleetgoalgreat adogrievancegroundguiding lightguiding starheadheadacheheadingheartholographhumorhylehypostasisichoridealimplicationimportimportanceincidentincidentalinconvenienceindividualinspirationinstanceintentioninterestissueitemjobkernellaborlachrymalactationletterleukorrhealiterae scriptaeliterary artefactliterary productionliteraturelive matterliving issuelodestarlookoutlucubrationlymphmagnitude
Verb(1 words)
does matter
Related words (225)
main pointmainspringmanuscriptmarrowmassmaterialmaterial worldmaterialitymatter in handmatteringmeanmeaningmeaningfulnessmeasuremeasurementmeatmediummilkminor detailminutia
Show 146 more words
minutiaemoleculemomentmonadmotifmotivemsmucormucusnatural worldnatureneighborhoodnonfictionnubnubbinnumbersobjectoccasionoccupationoccurrenceopusorderoriginalpaperparchmentparticularpeccant humorpeck of troublespenscriptphlegmphysical worldpiecepiece of writingpithplayplenumpoempointpoint at issuepoint in questionpredicamentprincipleprinted matterprintoutproblemproceedingproductionprojectpurportpurulencepuspuzzlequandaryquantityquantumquestionquintessencerangerankleranklingreading matterreasonrecensionregardrespectrheumripenrubricrunrunningsakesalivasaniessapscorescreedscripscriptscrivescrollsea of troublessecond draftsenseserous fluidserumservicesignificancesignificationsignifysituationsnotsoulsourcespiritspringstand outstanding matterstarstrengthstrokestuffsubjectsubject mattersubject of thoughtsubstancesubstratumsumsum and substancesuppuratesuppurationsweattangibletearteardroptelltextthe four elementsthe whitesthe written wordthemethingto-dotopictransactiontranscripttranscriptiontroubletunetypescriptulterior motiveundertakingunit of beingupsetupshoturineversionvicinityvocationwaterweepweighweightwholeworkworrywriting
Noun(43 words)
material ofmaterialitiesmattered greatlymatters of importancemootmootsmore materialmost materialnonphysiological topicpolicy matterspreoccupationsreagentressamplesignifysignifyingspanish causaspecimenstate matterstudent subject
Adjective(7 words)
perceived matteringponderableserious issuesocial matteringsolid contentssolid substanceunexpected counts
Determiner(5 words)
the subjectthis subjectthis thingthis topicwhole material
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: material, substance, activities, activity, ado.
- Sentence evidence is available for matter, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, opengloss, moby, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "matter".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "matter"
Keep "matter" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "matter" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "matter", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "matter" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
22 entriesShowing 16 of 22 words.
More specific
12 entriesCollocations
10 entriesamount of matterconservation of mattermass of mattermatter during reactionmatter for yieldmatter in experimentsmatter to accuracymatter to resultsstates of mattertype of matter
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
3 entriesTranslations
165 translations across 100 languages.
Albanian
1 entries- lëndë noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Ancient Greek
2 entries- πρᾶγμα noun (reason for concern)
- ὕλη noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Arabic
2 entries- قَضِيَّة noun (reason for concern)
- مَادَّة noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Armenian
1 entries- նյութ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Assamese
1 entries- পদাৰ্থ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Azerbaijani
2 entries- maddə noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- materiya noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Bashkir
1 entries- матдә noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Belarusian
4 entries- матэ́рыя noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- пыта́нне noun (reason for concern)
- пыта́ньне noun (reason for concern)
- спра́ва noun (reason for concern)
Bengali
1 entries- পদার্থ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Bihari
1 entries- पदार्थ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Bulgarian
1 entries- мате́рия noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Burmese
1 entries- ဒြပ် noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Catalan
3 entries- assumpte noun (reason for concern)
- matèria noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- qüestió noun (reason for concern)
Central Kurdish
1 entries- ماکە noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Chinese
1 entries- 物質 /物质 noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 物質 /物质 noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Chinese Mandarin
4 entries- 事 noun (reason for concern)
- 事件 noun (reason for concern)
- 事情 noun (reason for concern)
- 問題 /问题 noun (reason for concern)
Czech
1 entries- hmota noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Danish
1 entries- stof noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Dari
1 entries- مَادَّه noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Doteli
1 entries- पदार्थ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Dutch
1 entries- materie noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Eastern Min Chinese
1 entries- 物質 /物质 noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Esperanto
2 entries- afero noun (reason for concern)
- materio noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Estonian
1 entries- aine noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Farefare
1 entries- yelle noun (reason for concern)
Finnish
4 entries- aine noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- hätä noun (reason for concern)
- ongelma noun (reason for concern)
- pulma noun (reason for concern)
French
1 entries- matière noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Galician
1 entries- materia noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Georgian
1 entries- მატერია noun (basic structural component of the universe)
German
2 entries- Angelegenheit noun (reason for concern)
- Materie noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Greek
1 entries- ύλη noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Gujarati
3 entries- પદાર્થ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- બાબત noun (reason for concern)
- વાત noun (reason for concern)
Hebrew
2 entries- חומר \ חֹמֶר noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- נוֹשֵׂא noun (reason for concern)
Hindi
2 entries- कारण noun (reason for concern)
- पदार्थ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Hungarian
3 entries- anyag noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- baj noun (reason for concern)
- gond noun (reason for concern)
Hunsrik
1 entries- Materje noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Icelandic
1 entries- efni noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Indonesian
1 entries- materi noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Iranian Persian
1 entries- مادِّه noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Irish
1 entries- damhna noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Italian
2 entries- materia noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- problema noun (reason for concern)
Japanese
4 entries- こと noun (reason for concern)
- 事件 noun (reason for concern)
- 問題 noun (reason for concern)
- 物質 noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Kannada
1 entries- ದ್ರವ್ಯ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Kazakh
2 entries- зат noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- материя noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Khmer
2 entries- រូបធាតុ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- វត្ថុ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Korean
3 entries- 문제 noun (reason for concern)
- 물질 noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- 일 noun (reason for concern)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- материя noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Lao
2 entries- ທາດ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- ສະສານ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Latin
3 entries- fabula noun (reason for concern)
- māteria noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- rēs noun (reason for concern)
Latvian
1 entries- matērija noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Lithuanian
1 entries- materija noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Macedonian
1 entries- материја noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Maithili
1 entries- पदार्थ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Malay
1 entries- jirim noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Malayalam
1 entries- ദ്രവ്യം noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Marathi
1 entries- पदार्थ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Middle English
1 entries- matere noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Mongolian
2 entries- бодис noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- матери noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Māori
2 entries- matū noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- take noun (reason for concern)
Nepali
1 entries- पदार्थ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Newar
1 entries- पदार्थ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Northern Kurdish
1 entries- made noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- stoff noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Odia
1 entries- ପଦାର୍ଥ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Old English
1 entries- andweorc noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- امر noun (reason for concern)
Pashto
1 entries- ماده noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Plautdietsch
1 entries- Sach noun (reason for concern)
Polish
2 entries- materia noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- sprawa noun (reason for concern)
Portuguese
2 entries- matéria noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- questão noun (reason for concern)
Punjabi
1 entries- ਪਦਾਰਥ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Romanian
3 entries- chestiune noun (reason for concern)
- materie noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- problemă noun (reason for concern)
Russian
3 entries- вопро́с noun (reason for concern)
- де́ло noun (reason for concern)
- мате́рия noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Sanskrit
1 entries- द्रव्यम् noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- màtērija noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- pítānje noun (reason for concern)
- tvȃr noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- ма̀те̄рија noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Sinhalese
1 entries- පදාර්ථය noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Slovak
1 entries- hmota noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Slovene
4 entries- materija noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- snov noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- tvar noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- zadeva noun (reason for concern)
Spanish
3 entries- asunto noun (reason for concern)
- cuestión noun (reason for concern)
- materia noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Swedish
4 entries- angelägenhet noun (reason for concern)
- fråga noun (reason for concern)
- materia noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- ärende noun (reason for concern)
Tagalog
2 entries- butang noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- likhatas noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Tajik
2 entries- материя noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- модда noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Tamil
1 entries- பொருள் noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Tatar
2 entries- матдә noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- материя noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Telugu
1 entries- పదార్థము noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Thai
2 entries- ธาตุ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- สสาร noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Tibetan
1 entries- དངོས་པོ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Turkish
1 entries- madde noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Turkmen
1 entries- materiýa noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Ukrainian
3 entries- мате́рія noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- пита́ння noun (reason for concern)
- спра́ва noun (reason for concern)
Urdu
1 entries- مادَّہ noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Uyghur
2 entries- ماتېرىيە noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- ماددا noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Uzbek
2 entries- materiya noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- modda noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Vietnamese
1 entries- vật chất noun (basic structural component of the universe)
West-Frisian
2 entries- matearje noun (basic structural component of the universe)
- saak noun (reason for concern)
Wu Chinese
1 entries- 物質 /物质 noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Yiddish
1 entries- מאַטעריע noun (basic structural component of the universe)
Yoruba
1 entries- ọrọ̀ noun (reason for concern)
Zulu
2 entries- indaba noun (reason for concern)
- udaba class 11/10 noun (reason for concern)
Sample sentences
35 total sentences available.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
Source: tatoeba (2106)
Never lose sight of the importance of a beautiful sunrise, or watching your kids sleep, or the smell of rain. It's often the small things that really matter in life.
Source: tatoeba (2280)
You have no business complaining about the matter.
Source: tatoeba (16588)
Showing 4 of 35 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "matter"?
Closest matches include material, substance, activities, activity, ado.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "matter"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.