material and maternal differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. material means “concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests”. maternal means “characteristic of a mother”. material is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/məˈtɪɹiəl/
1.adj.concerned with worldly rather than spiritual interests
“material possessions”
2.adj.derived from or composed of matter
“the material universe”
3.adj.directly relevant to a matter especially a law case
“his support made a material difference”
/məˈtɝnəl/
1.adj.characteristic of a mother
“warm maternal affection for her guest”
2.adj.relating to or derived from one's mother
“maternal genes”
3.adj.relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent
“parental guidance”
| material | maternal | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /məˈtɪɹiəl/ | /məˈtɝnəl/ |
| Said | muh-TIR-ee-uhl | muh-TUR-nuhl |
| Syllables | 4 | 3 |
| Letters | 8 | 8 |
| Parts of speech | adjective, noun | adjective |
| Senses | 11 | 4 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for material · Full entry for maternal · More comparisons