insubstantiality
Quality of flimsiness
Insubstantiality is the quality of lacking substance, solidity, or real existence.
It describes things that seem flimsy, ethereal, or without material basis: the insubstantiality of dreams, the insubstantiality of his arguments.
The word often carries a sense of disappointment—something expected to be solid turns out to be thin or ungraspable.
Absence of substance
- voidWithout legal effect
- vacancyUnoccupied space or position
- hollownessState of being empty inside
- vacuityUtter emptiness or blankness
shell · husk · nothingness · barrenness · blankness · nullity · cipher · nonentity
Misleading sensory impression
- phantasmIllusory supernatural appearance
- mirageAtmospheric optical deception
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
specter · chimera · phantom · wraith · dreamlike · ghostly · ethereal · spectral
Easily broken or harmed
- brittleLiable to shatter
- fragilityEase of breaking
- tenuousLacking solid foundation
- flimsyWeak and easily damaged
gossamer · wispy · frail · breakable · vulnerable · frangible · dainty · friable
Brevity of existence
- impermanenceQuality of not lasting
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- momentaryLasting very briefly
- evanescentTending to vanish quickly
passing · transitory · ephemeral · short-lived · vanishing · fading · dissipating · temporary
Minimal weight or gravity
- weightlessnessAbsence of apparent mass
- buoyancyFluid's upward resistance
- airinessLightness and openness
- levityLack of seriousness
ethereality · floatiness · imponderable · featherweight · airy · feathery · floating · drifting
emptiness
Absence of substance
- voidWithout legal effect
- vacancyUnoccupied space or position
- hollownessState of being empty inside
vacuity · shell · husk · nothingness · barrenness · blankness · nullity · cipher · nonentity · nil
illusion
Misleading sensory impression
- phantasmIllusory supernatural appearance
- mirageAtmospheric optical deception
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
apparition · specter · chimera · phantom · wraith · dreamlike · ghostly · ethereal · spectral · shadowy
delicate
Easily broken or harmed
flimsy · gossamer · wispy · frail · breakable · vulnerable · frangible · dainty · friable · crumbly
transience
Brevity of existence
- impermanenceQuality of not lasting
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- momentaryLasting very briefly
evanescent · passing · transitory · ephemeral · short-lived · vanishing · fading · dissipating · temporary · perishable
lightness
Minimal weight or gravity
- weightlessnessAbsence of apparent mass
- buoyancyFluid's upward resistance
- airinessLightness and openness
levity · ethereality · floatiness · imponderable · featherweight · airy · feathery · floating · drifting · hovering
nebulous
Unclear and formless
- indistinctUnclear, hard to perceive
- amorphousWithout distinct shape
- undefinedNot clearly delineated
formless · hazy · blurry · fuzzy · murky · obscure · unclear · shapeless · unformed · intangible
insubstantialitysubstantiality
Concrete, tangible existence
solidity · solidness · density · massiveness · heaviness
insubstantialitysubstantialness
Quality of being considerable
significance · importance · consequence · moment · weight
insubstantialitystrength
Power to exert force
sturdiness · robustness · durability · solidity · firmness
substance, substantial, insubstantial, substantiate, substantiation, unsubstantial, substantiality, instantiate, instantiation