immaterial

Meaning

Adj

1. Having no matter or substance; incorporeal.
2. Of the nature of the soul or spirit; spiritual.
3. (figuratively) Of no importance; inconsequential, insignificant, unimportant.
4. (figuratively, rare) Having or seeming to have very little substance; insubstantial, slight.
5. (figuratively) Especially of evidence; chiefly followed by to: not associated in any way that is important or useful to the context being discussed; irrelevant.

Noun

1. (countable, in-plural) A being or entity having no matter or substance.
2. (countable, in-plural) A thing which is abstract or intangible; (uncountable) chiefly preceded by the: things which are abstract or intangible considered collectively.

Opposite of

corporeal, material, tangible, insubstantial, superficial, unimportant, ignorable, inconsequential, insignificant, minor, negligible, trivial, unremarkable, germane, pertinent, relevant, unconnected

Synonyms

incorporeal

extraneous

intangible

insignificant

spiritual

negligible

unsubstantial

nonessential

unimportant

bodiless

indifferent

inessential

insubstantial

trifling

trivial

nonmaterial

impertinent

orthogonal

irrelevant

petty

minor

inconsequent

marginal

inconsequential

abstract

unessential

fiddling

paltry

moral

mystic

nickel-and-dime

niggling

non-essential

nonphysical

nonsense

nonsignificant

nugatory

offhand

piddling

potty

psychic

slight

small

small-time

supernatural

tangential

be of no consequence

unbodied

unimposing

unimpressive

Translations

inmaterial

immatériel

immateriale

lauw

incorporeo

onverschillig

imaterial

unwesentlich

unkörperlich

indifférent

incorporel

irrilevante

körperlos

ασώματος

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌɪ.məˈtɪə.ɹɪ.əl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: immaterial

Cognate with French: immatériel

In summary

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English immaterial, inmateriall (“incorporeal; spiritual”), from Middle French immateriel (“not material”) (modern French immatériel), and from its etymon Medieval Latin immāteriālis (“not material”), from Latin im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + māteriālis (“made of matter, material”) (from māteria (“matter, substance, material”) (from māter, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr, + ia) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship)). The English word is analysable as im- + material.
The noun is derived from the adjective.