From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
material
adj 1: concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests;
"material possessions"; "material wealth"; "material
comforts"
2: derived from or composed of matter; "the material universe"
[ant: immaterial, nonmaterial]
3: directly relevant to a matter especially a law case; "his
support made a material difference"; "evidence material to
the issue at hand"; "facts likely to influence the judgment
are called material facts"; "a material witness" [ant:
immaterial]
4: concerned with or affecting physical as distinct from
intellectual or psychological well-being; "material needs";
"the moral and material welfare of all good citizens"-
T.Roosevelt
5: having material or physical form or substance; "that which is
created is of necessity corporeal and visible and tangible" -
Benjamin Jowett [syn: corporeal, material] [ant:
immaterial, incorporeal]
6: having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not
imaginary; "the substantial world"; "a mere dream, neither
substantial nor practical"; "most ponderous and substantial
things"- Shakespeare [syn: substantial, real, material]
[ant: insubstantial, unreal, unsubstantial]
n 1: the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a
physical object; "coal is a hard black material"; "wheat is
the stuff they use to make bread" [syn: material,
stuff]
2: information (data or ideas or observations) that can be used
or reworked into a finished form; "the archives provided rich
material for a definitive biography"
3: artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting
natural or synthetic fibers; "the fabric in the curtains was
light and semitransparent"; "woven cloth originated in
Mesopotamia around 5000 BC"; "she measured off enough
material for a dress" [syn: fabric, cloth, material,
textile]
4: things needed for doing or making something; "writing
materials"; "useful teaching materials"
5: a person judged suitable for admission or employment; "he was
university material"; "she was vice-presidential material"