immaterial
/,imə'tiəriəl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
The tiny scratch on the frame was immaterial to the boy who loved his new bicycle.
Definition
- Adjective:
- Not consisting of matter; without physical substance: Refers to things that are spiritual, ethereal, or not composed of material or physical matter.
- Unimportant; irrelevant; of no consequence: Lacking importance or relevance, especially to a specific matter or situation. Often used in legal contexts to describe evidence or arguments that do not pertain to the case.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective:
- The lawyer argued that the witness's personal opinion was immaterial to the facts of the case.
- For a spiritual person, worldly possessions are often seen as immaterial.
- Whether we meet at 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. is immaterial to me; I'm free all afternoon.
Advanced Usage
- "immaterial to": A common construction indicating something is irrelevant or of no importance to a particular subject or person.
- His previous experience is immaterial to this entry-level position.
- In legal terminology, an "immaterial allegation" is a claim in a pleading that is not essential to the case.
Variants and Related Words
- Immateriality (noun): The quality or state of being immaterial.
- The defense focused on the immateriality of the prosecution's evidence.
- Immaterially (adverb): In an immaterial manner; insignificantly.
- The error affected the outcome only immaterially.
Synonyms
- Irrelevant: Not connected with or relevant to something.
- Inconsequential: Not important or significant.
- Incorporeal: Not composed of matter; having no material existence.
- Unimportant: Lacking in importance.
Antonyms
- Material: Important, relevant; or consisting of physical matter.
- Relevant: Closely connected or appropriate to the matter at hand.
- Corporeal: Having a physical body; tangible.
Related Phrases and Usage Notes
- The word is often used in formal, academic, or legal contexts to dismiss points as irrelevant.
- In philosophy, it relates to concepts of mind, spirit, or non-physical reality, as opposed to the material world.
The tiny scratch on the frame was immaterial to the boy who loved his new bicycle.
Adjective
- (often followed by `to') lacking importance; not mattering one way or the other
- whether you choose to do it or not is a matter that is quite immaterial (or indifferent)
- what others think is altogether indifferent to him
- not pertinent to the matter under consideration
- an issue extraneous to the debate
- the price was immaterial
- mentioned several impertinent facts before finally coming to the point
- not consisting of matter
- immaterial apparitions
- ghosts and other immaterial entities
- without material form or substance
- an incorporeal spirit
- of no importance or relevance especially to a law case
- an objection that is immaterial after the fact