less than substantial

USAGE SUMMARY

"less than substantial" is correct and can be used in written English.
You can use it to describe something that is not substantial, or has a small amount of something. For example, "The data provided was less than substantial, making it difficult to draw any conclusions."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

5 human-written examples

There appears to be no indication that Radomski's cooperation was anything less than substantial.

The New York Times - Sports

And 25 percent of those in the top 1 percent pay less than substantial numbers of households in the upper three quintiles.

The New York Times

Of course, a sunny, uncomplicated 50-minute piece in the context of a long five-show day will come as a real breath of fresh air to the beleaguered critic, but it often feels that outside fringe time, few regular theatres will ever take a punt on anything deemed less than substantial.

The Guardian

The added heft and weight make it feel like a much more comfortable handful than many current-day devices, which can tend to feel cheap or less than substantial, especially when they use plastic as their primary case material.

TechCrunch

Excluding the items found to have been agreed on less than substantial in the inter-observer analysis in paper I in addition to the ones not related to the underlying constructs, we proposed TBscoreII consisting of cough, dyspnea, chest pain, anemia, BMI<18, BMI<16, MUAC<220 mm, and MUAC<200 mm.

Global Health Action

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

Most lenders are simply not interested in borrowers with anything less than a substantial deposit".

The Guardian - Money

"It is abundantly clear from the views of your reps at the meeting that Network Rail's offer simply isn't good enough and we demand nothing less than a substantial improvement".

Independent

He cites figures from the archaeologist Heinrich Haerke that the Anglo-Saxon invasions that began in the fourth century A.D. added about 250,000 people to a British population of one to two million, an estimate that Dr. Oppenheimer notes is larger than his but considerably less than the substantial replacement of the English population assumed by others.

The New York Times - Science

Still, the practical result was that anything less than a substantial victory by Mr. Kerry could be portrayed by his opponents as a setback, which is what was happening throughout the day as the campaigns got early glimpses of the results of surveys of voters leaving the polls.

The New York Times

When we restricted the analysis to the seven trials with clearly concealed allocation, explicit blinding of patients, and dropout rate less than 15%, substantial heterogeneity existed in the comparison between acupuncture and placebo acupuncture (P=0.01, I=63%).

British Medical Journal

Based on rates of daily change in PCB levels reported by Bloom and colleagues [ 31], variability due to changes in PCB levels over three days after delivery would be small and considerably less than the substantial inter-individual variability of maternal PCB levels we observed in this sample [ 4].

Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When aiming for precision, consider alternatives like "insignificant", "minor", or "negligible" depending on the specific context and the degree of insufficiency you wish to convey. Using the right alternative will add clarity to your writing.

Common error

While "less than substantial" is grammatically sound, it can sometimes sound less direct than alternatives in formal writing. Instead of saying "The evidence was less than substantial", consider a more concise statement like "The evidence was weak" for a stronger impact.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "less than substantial" functions as a qualifier, indicating that something does not meet a certain threshold of significance or size. Ludwig confirms its grammatical correctness. It's used to describe qualities, quantities, or impacts that are below what might be expected or desired.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

50%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "less than substantial" is a grammatically correct way to express that something is not significant, large, or impactful. Ludwig identifies it as acceptable for use, particularly in analytical contexts across both news and scientific domains. While relatively infrequent, its nuanced meaning can be useful. When writing, consider alternatives like "insignificant", "minor", or "negligible" for greater precision or conciseness. Be mindful of overuse in formal contexts where more direct adjectives might be more effective. Understanding these nuances will aid in crafting clear and impactful communication.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

scarcely significant

Highlights the minimal impact or importance.

not especially significant

Uses "not especially" to imply a certain weakness.

hardly considerable

Emphasizes the lack of noteworthiness or significance.

relatively minor

Implies a lower level of importance or impact.

slightly underwhelming

Emphasizes a sense of disappointment due to a lack of impact.

somewhat insignificant

Expresses a slightly stronger degree of insignificance.

somewhat deficient

Focuses on a lack of something necessary or expected.

not particularly large

Focuses on the quantity or size being less than expected.

reasonably trivial

Implies that something is ordinary and not worth much consideration.

marginally adequate

Suggests barely meeting the minimum requirement.

FAQs

How can I use "less than substantial" in a sentence?

You can use "less than substantial" to describe something that is not large, significant, or impactful. For example: "The evidence presented was "less than substantial", so the judge dismissed the case."

What are some alternatives to "less than substantial"?

Depending on the context, you could use alternatives like "insignificant", "minor", "negligible", or "inadequate".

Is it better to use "less than substantial" or a more direct adjective?

In formal writing, a more direct adjective like "weak" or "insufficient" might be preferable for conciseness. However, "less than substantial" can be useful when you want to soften the statement or indicate a nuanced degree of insufficiency.

What is the difference between "less than substantial" and "not substantial"?

Both phrases convey a similar meaning, but "less than substantial" might imply a slightly lower degree of impact or significance. "Not substantial" simply states that something is not substantial, while "less than substantial" suggests it falls short of being so.