How do you pronounce material?

The recorded pronunciation is /məˈtɪə.ɹi.əl/.

Where does material come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

material

/məˈtɪə.ɹi.əl/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.95 in modern English

Syllables: ma-te-ri-al
IPA: /məˈtɪə.ɹi.əl/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, relating to, or consisting of matter, especially physical.

adj

Of, relating to, or affecting physical well-being; corporeal; bodily.

adj

Of or relating to the matter of reasoning, as distinguished from the form of it, especially empirical.

adj

Having real importance or great consequences; significant; substantial.

adj

Relating to or concerned with what is purely physical rather than intellectual or spiritual, especially excessively so; materialistic.

adj

Full of substance or otherwise meaning.

Obsolete

adj

In an important degree.

Obsolete

noun

A basic matter (as metal, wood, plastic, fiber, etc.) from which the whole or the greater part of something physical (as a machine, tool, building, fabric, etc.) is made.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"This compound has a number of interesting material properties."
"the material elements of the universe"
"material needs"
"material cause"
"the material aspect of being"
"found a material difference between two things"

Etymology

From Middle English material, from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria (“wood, material, substance”), from māter (“mother”). Displaced native Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”) (from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”)). Doublet of materiel.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: material, māteriālis, māteria

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /məˈtɪə.ɹi.əl/
British English: /məˈtɪə.ɹi.əl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more material (comparative) most material (superlative) materials (plural) materials (present, singular) materialing (US, participle) materialling (UK, participle) materialed (US, participle) materialed (US, past) materialled (UK, participle) materialled (UK, past)

Derived Forms

unmaterial antimaterial archaeomaterial archeomaterial astromaterial bimaterial biomaterial cryptomaterial ecomaterial geomaterial hazmat materialisation

Phrases

material breach material cause material nonimplication active material bill of material bomb material building material child sexual abuse material

Frequently Paired Words

matter materiel substantial for material's use as an adjective

Synonyms

bulky massive solid meaty raw material appoint matts material

Antonyms

spiritual immaterial

Rhymes With

imperial cereal bacterial managerial arterial ethereal antibacterial immaterial venereal biomaterial