immaterial

adjective

ˌi-mə-ˈtir-ē-əl How to pronounce immaterial (audio)
Definition of immaterialnext
1
as in spiritual
not composed of matter it is only possible to study immaterial forces like gravity by observing their effects on the physical world

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irrelevant
not having anything to do with the matter at hand while undoubtedly upsetting, that story is immaterial to the question of why you are late

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of immaterial The live audience was immaterial as long as the jokes were funny. — IEEE Spectrum, 2 Aug. 2026 To the casual observer, the look and feel of shipping containers suggests a world of smooth, lossless transportation, almost immaterial in its implementation of a logistical ideal. — Alexander Klose, Scientific American, 24 July 2026 The money, in Gupta’s view, is immaterial. — April Long, Allure, 24 June 2026 None of these readings are so emphatic as to render the others immaterial, and the pervading ambivalence paired with a steady but creeping pace could turn off viewers who just want a good mystery to solve. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for immaterial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for immaterial
  1. spiritual
  2. irrelevant
  3. incorporeal
  4. metaphysical
  5. nonmaterial
  6. invisible
  7. supernatural
  8. nonphysical
Adjective
  • Crowley said Aiwass dictated to him the Book of the Law, which became the scripture for Crowley's new spiritual philosophy of Thelema.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • These spiritual beings are nothing if not preoccupied with the state of material things, such as the temperature of the wine, for example.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of spiritual
Adjective
  • The shift may have been good for business, but users often lamented that lack of control, complaining that the recommendation algorithms could send them down rabbit holes of irrelevant or even toxic content.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Tesla and SpaceX CEO predicts that advances in robotics and space exploration could eventually make conventional money irrelevant.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of irrelevant
Adjective
  • Followers of the Abrahamic religions are supposed to treat God as immaterial and incorporeal, yet these early Yahweh worshippers imagined him as fully embodied.
    — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Positioned as a large-scale genre event, the series updates the legendary SFX property with a contemporary political and social edge, with Shun Oguri leading the cast as a detective hunting a seemingly incorporeal killer.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 27 Jan. 2026
Definition of incorporeal
Adjective
  • The latter perhaps most acutely reflected such dominant motifs in Gibson’s midcareer work as female figures, birds, and metaphysical reflectors.
    — The Editors of ARTnews, ARTnews.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The best moments on records like Redemption, Blackheart, and Second Line use her knack for grand, metaphysical metaphors to charge her singing with epic stakes.
    — Stephen Kearse, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of metaphysical
Adjective
  • The author excludes them all, asserting that belief in any kind of nonmaterial, ethereal world lacks empirical support.
    — Denis Alexander, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2023
  • The first part of the book is committed to a ground-clearing exercise, describing the various concepts of the nonmaterial soul that feature in many different religious belief systems.
    — Denis Alexander, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2023
Definition of nonmaterial
Adjective
  • The mostly invisible bits course through blood and pass from mother to child through the placenta and breast milk.
    — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Why invisible warmth is catching on The cultural setup for this trend was already in place.
    — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of invisible
Adjective
  • Consider a ghost tour of Merchant’s House, a residence turned museum where supernatural phenomena have been reported since the death of its last occupant, in 1933.
    — Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The film draws on 1980s supernatural comedies, including Back to the Future, Ghostbusters and The Addams Family, alongside classic monster movies and horror spoofs.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of supernatural
Adjective
  • In Ayurveda, Prana, the life force carried by the breath, is understood to nourish both the mind and body and can be viewed as a nonphysical substance, finer than oxygen.
    — Trisha Swift, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
  • In accounting, intangible assets are nonphysical possessions including such things as brands and intellectual property, software, mineral rights ‒ and contracts.
    — Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Definition of nonphysical

Browse Nearby Words

immanent
immaterial
immateriality
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Immaterial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/immaterial. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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