| matter | that which has mass and occupies space, physicists study both the nature of matter and the forces which govern it |
| matter | (used with negation) having consequence, they were friends and it was no matter who won the games |
grey matter
gray matter
grey substance
gray substance
substantia grisea | greyish nervous tissue containing cell bodies as well as fibers, forms the cerebral cortex consisting of unmyelinated neurons |
white matter
substantia alba | whitish nervous tissue of the CNS consisting of neurons and their myelin sheaths |
matter affair
thing | a vaguely specified concern, several matters to attend to, it is none of your affair, things are going well |
personal business
personal matters
affairs | matters of personal concern, get his affairs in order |
| matter | a problem, is anything the matter? |
topic
subject issue
matter | some situation or event that is thought about, he kept drifting off the topic, he had been thinking about the subject for several years, it is a matter for the police |
| matter of fact | a matter that is an actual fact or is demonstrable as a fact |
conservation of mass
conservation of matter
law of conservation of mass
law of conservation of matter | a fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system |
| matter | written works (especially in books or magazines), he always took some reading matter with him on the plane |
text
textual matter | the words of something written, there were more than a thousand words of text, they handed out the printed text of the mayor's speech, he wants to reconstruct the original text |
| copy written matter | matter to be printed, exclusive of graphical materials |
front matter
prelims | written matter preceding the main text of a book |
back matter
end matter | written matter following the main text of a book |
message
content
subject matter
substance | what a communication that is about something is about |
crux
crux of the matter | the most important point |
question of fact
matter of fact | a disputed factual contention that is generally left for a jury to decide |
question of law
matter of law | a disputed legal contention that is generally left for a judge to decide |
artwork
art
graphics nontextual matter | photographs or other visual representations in a printed publication, the publisher was responsible for all the artwork in the book |
picture
pictorial matter | illustrations used to decorate or explain a text, the dictionary had many pictures |
tabulation
tabular matter | information set out in tabular form |
foregone conclusion
matter of course | an inevitable ending |
state of matter
state | (chemistry) the three traditional states of matter are solids (fixed shape and volume) and liquids (fixed volume and shaped by the container) and gases (filling the container), the solid state of water is called ice |
| dark matter | (cosmology) a hypothetical form of matter that is believed to make uppercent of the universe, it is invisible (does not absorb or emit light) and does not collide with atomic particles but exerts gravitational force |
particulate
particulate matter | a small discrete mass of solid or liquid matter that remains individually dispersed in gas or liquid emissions (usually considered to be an atmospheric pollutant) |
fecal matter
faecal matter
feces
faeces
BM
stool
ordure
dejection a | solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels |
waste
waste material
waste matter
waste product | any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted, they collect the waste once a week, much of the waste material is carried off in the sewers |
| vegetable matter | matter produced by plants or growing in the manner of a plant |
count
matter
weigh | have weight, have import, carry weight, It does not matter much |
matter to
interest | be of importance or consequence, This matters to me! |
| matter-of-course | expected or depended upon as a natural or logical outcome |
external
extraneous outside | coming from the outside, extraneous light in the camera spoiled the photograph, relying upon an extraneous income, disdaining outside pressure groups |
| extraneous | not essential, the ballet struck me as extraneous and somewhat out of keeping with the rest of the play |
matter-of-fact
pragmatic
pragmatical | concerned with practical matters, a matter-of-fact (or pragmatic) approach to the problem, a matter-of-fact account of the trip |
extraneous
immaterial
impertinent
orthogonal | not pertinent to the matter under consideration, an issue extraneous to the debate, the price was immaterial, mentioned several impertinent facts before finally coming to the point |
matter-of-fact
prosaic | not fanciful or imaginative, local guides describe the history of various places in matter-of-fact tones, a prosaic and unimaginative essay |
extraneous
foreign | not belonging to that in which it is contained, introduced from an outside source, water free of extraneous matter, foreign particles in milk |
| for that matter | as far as that is concerned, for that matter I don't care either |
regardless
irrespective
disregardless
no matter
disregarding | in spite of everything, without regard to drawbacks, he carried on regardless of the difficulties |
fiscally
in fiscal matters | in financial matters, fiscally irresponsible |
in fact
in point of fact
as a matter of fact | in reality or actuality, in fact, it was a wonder anyone survived, painters who are in fact anything but unsophisticated, as a matter of fact, he is several inches taller than his father |
come hell or high water
no matter what happens
whatever may come | in spite of all obstacles, we'll go to Tibet come hell or high water |