Insubstantial - English meaning

adjective

Capable of breaking or being broken easily.

Usage examples:

Breakable ornaments

plural noun

Things which are fragile and easily broken.

Usage examples:

Breakables, like china, should be padded thoroughly and placed in smaller boxes

adjective

Low in price, especially in relation to similar items or services.

Usage examples:

Local buses were reliable and cheap

adverb

At or for a low price.

Usage examples:

A house that was going cheap because of the war

adjective

Costing little money or less than is usual or expected

Usage examples:

After world war ii, the us had cheap labor, cheap energy, cheap raw materials, cheap housing, cheap…

adjective

Lacking physical strength, especially as a result of age or illness.

Usage examples:

By now, he was too feeble to leave his room

adjective

Weak

Usage examples:

A feeble joke, he’s pretty feeble, and has to use a cane to get around.

adjective

Insubstantial and easily damaged.

Usage examples:

A flimsy barrier

noun

A document, especially a copy, made on very thin paper.

Usage examples:

Credit-card flimsies

adjective

(of material) very thin, or (of a structure or object) badly made and weak, and therefore easily broken or destroyed

Usage examples:

A flimsy dress, a flimsy building, they convicted the defendant on very flimsy evidence.

adjective

(of an object) easily broken or damaged.

Usage examples:

Fragile items such as glass and china

adjective

Easily damaged, broken, or harmed

Usage examples:

A fragile piece of metal, their argument showed us just how fragile the teammate relationship can b…

adjective

Easily harmed, damaged, or broken

Usage examples:

The fragile economy is under the pressure of floods at home and rising oil prices abroad., the chan…

adjective

(of a person) weak and delicate.

Usage examples:

His small, frail body

noun

A woman.

Usage examples:

Cosmetic manufacturers will never go out of business because the frails will always want to look li…

adjective

Physically weak, or easily damaged, broken, or harmed

Usage examples:

He’s always in frail health., the shirt is old and frail, and the threads look ready to part.

adjective

Showy but cheap or badly made.

Usage examples:

Plastic gimcrack cookware

noun

A cheap and showy ornament; a knick-knack.

Usage examples:

There's nothing you can do to change the little ones' minds about the gewgaws and gimcracks they ex…

adjective

Attractive on the surface but badly made and of no real or permanent value

adjective

Built quickly and badly using cheap materials

noun

The natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.

Usage examples:

The light of the sun

verb

Provide with light or lighting; illuminate.

Usage examples:

The room was lit by a number of small lamps

adjective

Having a considerable or sufficient amount of natural light; not dark.

Usage examples:

The bedrooms are light and airy

adjective

Acting as an interim and temporary measure.

Usage examples:

Arranging a row of chairs to form a makeshift bed

noun

A temporary substitute or device.

Usage examples:

We're looking at a matchup between makeshifts on saturday.

adjective

Lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.

Usage examples:

They were too poor to afford a telephone

adjective

(especially of a house or vehicle) in a state of severe disrepair.

Usage examples:

A ramshackle cottage

adjective

Badly made and likely to break or fall down easily

Usage examples:

A ramshackle building with a sagging roof

adjective

(of a structure or piece of equipment) poorly made and likely to collapse.

Usage examples:

We went carefully up the rickety stairs

adjective

Shaking or trembling.

Usage examples:

She managed a shaky laugh

adjective

Feeling upset

Usage examples:

This was my fourth time in a plane, but i still felt shaky., it was a shaky marriage from the start…

adjective

Not in good condition or likely to fail

Usage examples:

The government is taking these steps to try to improve the country's shaky economy., too many mortg…

adjective

Badly made or done.

Usage examples:

We're not paying good money for shoddy goods

noun

An inferior quality yarn or fabric made from the shredded fibre of waste woollen cloth or clippings.

Usage examples:

The production of shoddy and mattress stuffing

adjective

Made or done without care

Usage examples:

The furniture is shoddy and cheap.

adjective

Small in degree; inconsiderable.

Usage examples:

A slight increase

verb

Insult (someone) by treating or speaking of them without proper respect or attention.

Usage examples:

He was desperate not to slight a guest

noun

An insult caused by a failure to show someone proper respect or attention.

Usage examples:

An unintended slight can create grudges

adjective

Weak and unable to walk in a normal way, usually because of being old

Usage examples:

A tottery old man

adjective

Likely to give way; not stable.

Usage examples:

The unstable cliff tops

adjective

Not firm and therefore not strong, safe, or likely to last

Usage examples:

It is a poor and politically unstable country., he’s emotionally unstable – you never know how he’l…

adjective

Lacking the power to perform physically demanding tasks; having little physical strength or energy.

Usage examples:

She was recovering from flu, and was very weak

adjective

Lacking strength or energy, or likely to stop working or break

Usage examples:

After having been so sick, it’s not surprising you still feel weak., that old chair is very weak an…

adjective

Too low or not powerful enough to be successful or effective

Usage examples:

Weak growth/market share/results there was unexpectedly weak growth in corporate output in may., we…

adjective

Tending to move unsteadily from side to side.

Usage examples:

The car had a wobbly wheel

noun

A fit of temper or panic.

Usage examples:

My daughter threw a wobbly when i wouldn't let her play

noun

Popular name for members of industrial workers of the world.