immaterial

adjective

im·​ma·​te·​ri·​al ˌi-mə-ˈtir-ē-əl How to pronounce immaterial (audio)
1
: of no substantial consequence : unimportant
2
: not consisting of matter : incorporeal

Examples of immaterial in a Sentence

Whether or not he intended to cause problems is immaterial. The fact that she is a woman is immaterial and irrelevant.
Recent Examples on the Web Unlike baked goods, which can at least be photographed, aroma is immaterial. Molly Young, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024 Inevitably, though, such sturdy facts prove inseparable from the immaterial life that these strange objects preserve, and from the larger histories into which books are inescapably bound. Claudia Roth Pierpont, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 Whether Wood and Colton were part of the group Toews was frustrated with is immaterial, but the improvements those two have made in assimilating to how the Avs want to play are obvious. Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 14 Feb. 2024 The American public’s ignorance as to the secretary’s whereabouts is immaterial; the public doesn’t need to be told when our military and civilian leaders have scheduled their colonoscopies. The Editors, National Review, 8 Jan. 2024 Quinn and Cahill hadn’t laid a single pipe for the gas-leaning facility, but this fact was immaterial. Jesse Barron, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024 That the recipe reads like the product of a dare is immaterial. Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 20 Jan. 2024 How the fix happens is immaterial to NHTSA's safety recall process; the point is that the public and owners are notified that there is a safety defect and that there is a remedy. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 13 Dec. 2023 And 63% of Republicans said that a potential Trump conviction would be immaterial to his fitness to serve another term in the White House. TIME, 16 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'immaterial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English immaterial, from Late Latin immaterialis, from Latin in- + Late Latin materialis material

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of immaterial was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near immaterial

Cite this Entry

“Immaterial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immaterial. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

immaterial

adjective
im·​ma·​te·​ri·​al ˌim-ə-ˈtir-ē-əl How to pronounce immaterial (audio)
1
: not consisting of matter
2
: not important : insignificant

Legal Definition

immaterial

adjective
im·​ma·​te·​ri·​al ˌi-mə-ˈtir-ē-əl How to pronounce immaterial (audio)
: not essential, pertinent, or of consequence
the jury could have discounted the medical history evidence, or while accepting its accuracy, found it immaterialWillett v. State, 911 S.W.2d 937 (1995)
compare irrelevant
immateriality noun

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