Salt is a useful substance.
Source: tatoeba (25748)
Substance
/ˈsʌbstəns/
Synonyms for "substance" (458 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (10)
Strong matches (15)
Related words (25)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: body, material, actuality, additive, advocate of utilitarianism.
- Sentence evidence is available for substance, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, wordnet, opengloss, moby, 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 "substance".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "substance"
Keep "substance" 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 "substance" 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 "substance", 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 "substance" 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
17 entriesShowing 16 of 17 words.
More specific
5 entriesCollocations
5 entrieschemical substancehazardous substancemixture of substancespure substancesample of substance
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
5 entriesTranslations
96 translations across 73 languages.
Albanian
2 entries- lëndë noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- substancë noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Ancient Greek
3 entries- οὐσία noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- ὑπόστασις noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- ὕλη noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Arabic
1 entries- مَادَّة noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Armenian
1 entries- նյութ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Asturian
1 entries- sustancia noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- maddə noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Bashkir
1 entries- матдә noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Belarusian
2 entries- рэ́чыва noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- субста́нцыя noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Bengali
1 entries- পদার্থ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Bulgarian
2 entries- вещество́ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- субста́нция noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Burmese
1 entries- ဒြပ် noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Catalan
1 entries- substància noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Chinese
1 entries- 物質 /物质 noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 物質 /物质 noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 物質 /物质 noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Czech
1 entries- látka noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Danish
2 entries- masse noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- substans noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Dutch
1 entries- substantie noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Esperanto
1 entries- substanco noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Estonian
1 entries- aine noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Finnish
2 entries- aine noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- materia noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
French
1 entries- substance noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Galician
1 entries- substancia noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Georgian
1 entries- ნივთიერება noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
German
2 entries- Stoff noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- Substanz noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Greek
1 entries- ουσία noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Hebrew
1 entries- חומר \ חֹמֶר noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Hindi
2 entries- पदार्थ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- वस्तु noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Hungarian
2 entries- anyag noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- tartalom noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Icelandic
1 entries- efni noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Indonesian
1 entries- zat noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Irish
2 entries- damhna noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- mianach noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Italian
1 entries- sostanza noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Japanese
1 entries- 物質 noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Kazakh
1 entries- зат noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Khmer
1 entries- វត្ថុ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Korean
1 entries- 물질 noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- зат noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Lao
1 entries- ສະສານ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Latin
2 entries- materia noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- substantia noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Latvian
1 entries- viela noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Lithuanian
1 entries- medžiaga noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Macedonian
1 entries- супстанција noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Malay
2 entries- bahan noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- zat noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Mongolian
2 entries- бодис noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- ᠪᠣᠳᠠᠰ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Māori
3 entries- kiko noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- matū noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- pūmatū noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Northern Kurdish
1 entries- made noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Norwegian
2 entries- masse noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- substans noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Old English
1 entries- andweorc noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Pashto
1 entries- ماده noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Persian
1 entries- ماده noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Polish
1 entries- substancja noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Portuguese
1 entries- substância noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Romanian
1 entries- substanță noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Russian
3 entries- вещество́ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- мате́рия noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- субста́нция noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- supstànca noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- супста̀нца noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Slovak
1 entries- látka noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Slovene
1 entries- snov noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Spanish
2 entries- substancia noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- sustancia noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Swedish
2 entries- substans noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- ämne noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Tajik
1 entries- модда noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Tatar
1 entries- матдә noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Telugu
1 entries- పదార్థము noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Thai
1 entries- สสาร noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Turkish
1 entries- madde noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Turkmen
1 entries- madda noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Ukrainian
2 entries- речовина́ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
- субста́нція noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Urdu
1 entries- مادہ noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Uyghur
1 entries- ماددا noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Uzbek
1 entries- modda noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Vietnamese
1 entries- vật chất noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Wu Chinese
1 entries- 物質 /物质 noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Yiddish
1 entries- מאַטעריע noun (physical matter; material — see also matter)
Sample sentences
24 total sentences available.
It was an argument of little substance.
Source: tatoeba (33278)
The substance is light enough to float on the water.
Source: tatoeba (44134)
The substance must be treated with acid.
Source: tatoeba (44135)
Showing 4 of 24 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "substance"?
Closest matches include body, material, actuality, additive, advocate of utilitarianism.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "substance"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.