# substance

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsʌbstəns/ · frequency rank #4,900

## Definitions
1. Physical matter; material.
2. Physical matter; material.
3. The essential part of anything; the most vital part.
4. Substantiality; solidity; firmness.
5. Material possessions; estate; property; resources.
6. Drugs (illegal narcotics)
7. Ousia, essence; underlying reality or hypostasis in the philosophical sense.

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English substance, from Old French substance, from Latin substantia (“substance, essence”), from substāns, present active participle of substō (“exist”, literally “stand under”), from sub + stō (“stand”). Displaced native Old English andweorc.

## Easily confused with
- **subspace** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/subspace-vs-substance)

## Common misspellings (15)
`sbustance`, `ssubstance`, `subbstance`, `subsatnce`, `subsstance`, `substacne`, `substancce`, `substanec`, `substannce`, `substence`, `substnace`, `substtance`, `subtsance`, `susbtance`, `usbstance`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/substance