unsubstantiality
Quality of emptiness
Unsubstantiality is the quality of lacking substance, solidity, or real existence.
It describes things that are flimsy, insubstantial, or without firm basis: the unsubstantiality of his arguments, the unsubstantiality of dreams upon waking.
The word often carries a sense of something that cannot bear weight—physical or metaphorical.
Weakness of body
- fragilityEase of breaking
- flimsinessLack of strength
- feeblenessLack of strength
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
tenuousness · infirmity · vulnerability · instability · shakiness · precariousness · brittleness · papery
Not made of matter
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
- ghostlyResembling a specter
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- phantasmalLike an apparition
spiritual · nonphysical · disembodied · bodiless · weightless · airy · vaporous · gossamer
Passing very quickly
- transitoryBrief in duration
- momentaryLasting very briefly
- evanescentTending to vanish quickly
- passingMoving by or temporary
impermanent · transient · fugacious · brief · short-lived · temporary · perishable · volatile
Unclear and formless
- indistinctUnclear, hard to perceive
- hazyUnclear, indistinct
- fuzzySoft and unclear
- blurryIndistinct, lacking definition
obscure · unclear · indefinite · amorphous · formless · shapeless · murky · cloudy
Lacking significance or weight
- negligibleToo small to consider
- inconsequentialLacking significance or impact
- triflingOf no real importance
- pettyOf little importance
paltry · slight · minor · frivolous · inessential · unimportant · marginal · peripheral
frailty
Weakness of body
- fragilityEase of breaking
- flimsinessLack of strength
- feeblenessLack of strength
delicacy · tenuousness · infirmity · vulnerability · instability · shakiness · precariousness · brittleness · papery · threadbare
incorporeal
Not made of matter
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
- ghostlyResembling a specter
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
phantasmal · spiritual · nonphysical · disembodied · bodiless · weightless · airy · vaporous · gossamer · wraith
fleeting
Passing very quickly
- transitoryBrief in duration
- momentaryLasting very briefly
- evanescentTending to vanish quickly
passing · impermanent · transient · fugacious · brief · short-lived · temporary · perishable · volatile · meteoric
nebulous
Unclear and formless
- indistinctUnclear, hard to perceive
- hazyUnclear, indistinct
- fuzzySoft and unclear
blurry · obscure · unclear · indefinite · amorphous · formless · shapeless · murky · cloudy · shadowy
trivial
Lacking significance or weight
- negligibleToo small to consider
- inconsequentialLacking significance or impact
- triflingOf no real importance
petty · paltry · slight · minor · frivolous · inessential · unimportant · marginal · peripheral · incidental
unsubstantialitysubstantiality
Concrete, tangible existence
solidity · density · sturdiness · firmness · massiveness
unsubstantialitysoundness
Reliability of structure
substantiality · validity · solidity · strength · firmness
unsubstantialitysubstantiality
Concrete, tangible existence
significance · weightiness · importance · gravity · seriousness
unsubstantial, substantiality, substantial, substantially, insubstantial, substance, substances, substantive, substantively