Substantive

English

Adjective

Substantive (comparative more Substantive, superlative most Substantive)

1. Of the essence or essential element of a thing; as, "substantive information".
2. Having substance and prompting thought.
3. (law) Applying to essential legal principles and rules of right; as, "substantive law".
4. (chemistry) Of a dye that does not need the use of a mordant to be made fast to that which is being dyed.

Synonyms

• (of the essential element): essential, in essence
• (having substance): meaty, substantial

Antonyms

• (legal): adjective, procedural
• verbal
• (of a dye that does not need the use of a mordant): adjective

Derived terms

• substantive law

Noun

Substantive (plural Substantives)

1. (grammar) A word that names or refers to a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns and personal pronouns are always substantives by nature.

Hyponyms

• noun
• personal pronoun

Derived terms

• substantivise/substantivize
• substantival

Thesaurus

ab ovo, abstract noun, adherent noun, adjectival, adverbial, appreciable, attributive, basal, basic, bedrock, central, collective noun, common noun, concrete, conjunctive, constituent, constitutive, copulative, correct, elemental, elementary, essential, focal, formal, functional, fundamental, gerund, glossematic, grammatic, gut, hypostasis, indispensable, intransitive, life-and-death, life-or-death, linking, material, nominal, noun, noun phrase, of the essence, of vital importance, original, palpable, participial, ponderable, postpositional, prepositional, primal, primary, primitive, pronominal, pronoun, proper noun, quotation noun, radical, real, sensible, solid, structural, substantial, syntactic, tagmemic, tangible, transitive, underlying, verbal, vital