substantive.

1. Concerned with the actual content or central issues rather than merely form or procedure.

2. Having real importance or a meaningful amount of content.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• substantive issue
• substantive change
• substantive rights

On the page

The revision made no substantive change to eligibility.

The parties agreed on procedure but remained divided on substantive rights.

A longer essay is not necessarily a more substantive one.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic. Formal; distinguish substantive from substantial, which more directly means large or considerable. In law, substantive rights contrast with procedural rules. Gradable: more substantive; most substantive. Derived family (not inflections): substantively.