Pronunciations (4)
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/məˈtɪə.ɹi.əl/
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
- Received-Pronunciation
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/məˈtɪɹ.i.əl/
Pronunciation notes
- Canada
- General-American
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məˈtɪɹi.əl
Pronunciation notes
- US
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məˈtɪəɹɪəl
Pronunciation notes
- GB
Adjective
Of, relating to, or consisting of matter, especially physical.
- Examples
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This compound has a number of interesting material properties.
the material elements of the universe
Of, relating to, or affecting physical well-being; corporeal; bodily.
- Antonyms
- Examples
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material needs
Of or relating to the matter of reasoning, as distinguished from the form of it, especially empirical.
- Examples
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material cause
the material aspect of being
Having real importance or great consequences; significant; substantial.
Usage- especially
- Antonyms
- Examples
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found a material difference between two things
You've made several material contributions to this project.
More examples (3)
This is the most material fact in this lawsuit.
discourse, which was always material, not trifling
I shall, in the account of simple ideas, set down only such as are most material to our present purpose.
Relating to or concerned with what is purely physical rather than intellectual or spiritual, especially excessively so; materialistic.
- Examples
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the material world
interested only in material progress
More examples (2)
Don't let material concerns get in the way of living a happy life.
'Cause we are living in a material world / And I am a material girl / You know that we are living in a material world / And I am a material girl
Full of substance or otherwise meaning.
Usage- Obsolete
In an important degree.
Usage- Obsolete
Noun
A basic matter (as metal, wood, plastic, fiber, etc.) from which the whole or the greater part of something physical (as a machine, tool, building, fabric, etc.) is made.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Synonyms
- Examples
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Asphalt, composed of oil and sand, is a widely used material for roads.
More examples (2)
In trumpets for assisting the hearing, all reverbation of the trumpet must be avoided. It must be made thick, of the least elastic materials, and covered with cloth externally. For all reverbation lasts for a short time, and produces new sounds which mix with those which are coming in.
Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)
A person, or people collectively, who are qualified or suited for a certain position or activity.
Usage- collective
- Countable
- sometimes
- Uncountable
- Synonyms
- Examples
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boy/girlfriend material
marriage material
More examples (2)
We have lots of presidential material in various public offices.
Before she married her husband, Kiersten Little considered him ideal father material.
Apparatus for doing or making something.
Usage- Countable
- plural
- Uncountable
- usually
- Examples
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More examples (1)
Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
Something (as data, observations, perceptions or ideas) that may be incorporated, elaborated or otherwise reworked into a finished form or new form, or may serve as the basis for arriving at interpretations, judgments or conclusions.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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teaching materials
We were a warm-up act at the time; we didn't have enough original material to headline.
More examples (1)
With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get[…]
Fabric, which can be made into a garments, curtains, etc; especially, woven fabric (cloth).
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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a piece of material
You'll need about a yard of material to make this.
More examples (1)
Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.
The elements, constituents or substance of which something physical or non-physical composed of or can be made of.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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The solid materials of the mixture will settle to the bottom of the container.
The material of his character was basically good.
More examples (2)
[…] I beleeve that as they ſay of the materialls of the world, they would ſoone diſolve if the ſoule of it were taken away […]
As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.
An element of a design language associated with a certain style of rendering on the display.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
All of a player's pieces and pawns on the chessboard, excluding the king.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
The ingredients for making whisky punch.
Usage- Ireland
- Archaic
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Synonyms
The materiel of an army.
Usage- Countable
- Rare
- Uncountable
Things that are material.
Usage- Countable
- Obsolete
- Uncountable
Verb
To form from matter; to materialize.
Usage- Obsolete
- Transitive
- Examples
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I believe that the whole frame of a beast doth perish, and is left in the same state after death as before it was materialled unto life.
Adjective
concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests
- Examples
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material possessions
material wealth
More examples (1)
material comforts
derived from or composed of matter
- Antonyms
- Examples
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the material universe
directly relevant to a matter especially a law case
- Antonyms
- Examples
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his support made a material difference
evidence material to the issue at hand
More examples (2)
facts likely to influence the judgment are called material facts
a material witness
concerned with or affecting physical as distinct from intellectual or psychological well-being
- Examples
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material needs
having material or physical form or substance
- Synonyms
having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary
- Synonyms
- Examples
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the substantial world
a mere dream, neither substantial nor practical
More examples (1)
The wind was violent and felt substantial enough to lean against
Noun
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
- Examples
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coal is a hard black material
wheat is the stuff they use to make bread
information (data or ideas or observations) that can be used or reworked into a finished form
- Broader terms
- Examples
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the archives provided rich material for a definitive biography
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
- Examples
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the fabric in the curtains was light and semitransparent
woven cloth originated in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC
More examples (1)
she measured off enough material for a dress
things needed for doing or making something
- Broader terms
- Examples
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writing materials
useful teaching materials
a person judged suitable for admission or employment
- Examples
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he was university material
she was vice-presidential material