I am learning the word "materially".
Materially: 3. To a significant extent or degree; substantially. (thefreedictionary) https://www.thefreedictionary.com/materially
What is the difference between "materially" and "substantially"? Since I see "materially" used a lot in legal/accounting contexts, is "materially" more formal than "substantially" ?
Here is my research, but it is in a legal context.
The difference between 'substantially' and 'materially' would need to be tested in the courts. We could end up with a bit of a process in the courts, in the making of that determination. Although Senator Xenophon says that 'materially' is understood to be a lesser threshold than 'substantially', there would be a legal argument as to whether that was the case . From https://www.australiancompetitionlaw.org/legislation/2011ccla.html
Here are a few sentences containing "materially' from The Corpus of Contemporary American English
Red Hat said the transaction should not materially affect results of its second quarter, ending August 31,
but neither moonlight nor the strong twilight of this season will materially affect the observation of these brilliant meteors.
spending money to influence the outcome of referenda unless the issues involved in the referenda materially affected the corporation's property, business, or assets.
We said so when Apple did it last year, and nothing has materially changed to alter the facts for HTC.