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   Ma·te·ri·al

   /məˈtirēəl/

   

   noun

   • 1. the matter from which a thing is or can be made: "goats can eat more or less any plant material" Similar mattersubstancestuffmedium
   • ▪ things needed for an activity: "cleaning materials" Similar thingsitemsarticlesstuffnecessariesinformal:gubbins
   • ▪ a person of a specified quality or suitability: "he's not really Olympic material" Similar thingsitemsarticlesstuffnecessariesinformal:gubbins
   • 2. facts, information, or ideas for use in creating a book or other work: "there is much good material here for priests to use in sermons" Similar informationdatafactsfacts and figuresstatisticsevidencesubject matterideasdetailsparticularsbackgroundnotesdocumentationdocumentspapersinformal:infodeetsdopelowdowndirtgen
   • ▪ items, especially songs or jokes, comprising a performer's act: "a band playing original material"
   • 3. cloth or fabric: "a piece of dark material" Similar fabricclothstufftextiles

   adjective

   • 1. denoting or consisting of physical objects rather than the mind or spirit: "the material world" Similar physicalcorporealtangiblenonspiritualmundaneworldlyearthlytemporalconcreterealsolidsubstantialsecularlayrare:sublunaryOpposite spiritualabstract
   • ▪ concerned with physical needs or desires: "material living standards have risen" Similar sensualcarnalmaterialisticcorporalfleshlyphysicalbodilyOpposite aestheticintellectual
   • ▪ concerned with the matter of reasoning, not its form: "political conflict lacks mathematical or material certitude"
   • 2. important; essential; relevant: "the insects did not do any material damage to the crop" Similar significantmajorimportantof consequenceconsequentialmomentousweightyvitalessentialkeymeaningfulOpposite unimportantinsignificantinconsequential
   • ▪ (of evidence or a fact) significant, influential, or relevant, especially to the extent of determining a cause or affecting a judgment: "information that could be material to a murder inquiry" Similar relevantapplicablepertinentappositegermaneaproposto the pointto the purposead remrare:appurtenantOpposite immaterialirrelevant

   Word Origin late Middle English (in the sense ‘relating to matter’): from late Latin materialis, adjective from Latin materia ‘matter’.

   Scrabble Points: 10

   • M

     3

   • A

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

   • R

     1

   • I

     1

   • A

     1

   • L

     1

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