- [countable] a type of solid, liquid or gas that has particular qualities
- a sticky substance
- a chemical/radioactive/hazardous substance
- Some frogs produce toxic substances in their skin.
Extra ExamplesTopics Physics and chemistryb1- Exercise of this kind improves the balance of fatty substances in the bloodstream.
- Psychoactive drugs are chemical substances that act on the brain.
- a bag full of some unknown substance
- a natural substance found in the body of animals
- foreign substances that contaminated the experiments
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- addictive
- cancer-causing
- carcinogenic
- …
- use
- abuse
- contain
- …
- use
- abuse
- [countable] a drug, especially an illegal one
- illegal/controlled substances
- He was disqualified from competing after testing positive to a banned substance.
- Adolescent substance use remains high in the United States.
- [uncountable] the quality of being based on facts or the truth
- The commission's report gives substance to these allegations.
- There is some substance in what he says.
- without substance It was malicious gossip, completely without substance.
Extra Examples- His disappearance has given added substance to the argument that he stole the money.
- The image of him that the media have presented has no substance.
- The letters lent substance to the claims.
- Their allegations were without substance.
- There was little substance to his claims.
- There's no substance in the story.
- The party's manifesto is good on style but lacks real substance.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- real
- added
- have
- add
- give something
- …
- in substance
- of substance
- with substance
- …
- [uncountable] the most important or main part of something
- the substance of something Love and guilt form the substance of his new book.
- The real substance of the report was in the third part.
- in substance I agreed with what she said in substance, though not with every detail.
- There seems to be no difference in substance between the two procedures.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- real
- added
- have
- add
- give something
- …
- in substance
- of substance
- with substance
- …
- [uncountable] (formal) importance synonym significance
- of substance matters of substance
- Nothing of any substance was achieved in the meeting.
Extra Examples- He found it difficult to say much of substance.
- No one raised any matters of substance.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- real
- added
- have
- add
- give something
- …
- in substance
- of substance
- with substance
- …
Word OriginMiddle English (denoting the essential nature of something): from Old French, from Latin substantia ‘being, essence’, from substant- ‘standing firm’, from the verb substare.
Idioms
See substance in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee substance in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englisha man/woman of substance
- (formal) a rich and powerful man or woman
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substance