as in topic
the information or ideas that are discussed or dealt with in a book, movie, etc.; what something is about
I found the film's subject matter to be quite disturbing. The magazine's editors care more about style than about subject matter. She disapproves of the artist's choice of subject matter.
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Recent Examples of subject matter
The psychological drama ended up becoming a breakout project for Winslet and helped establish Jackson as a filmmaker capable of balancing dark subject matter with emotional storytelling.
—
Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 16 May 2026
The subject matter was also personal for the creative, who cut his teeth as a writer on such shows as Search Party and The Other Two and as a consulting producer on Big Mouth.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
My career was in customer service as a representative, supervisor, manager, project manager, and subject matter expert.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Thurman, already honored with a 2024 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship and a 2023 Florida Review Editor’s Prize for Fiction, has a masterful command of her subject matter and the complexities of a family drama in her first novel.
—Literary Hub, 12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for subject matter
Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 16 May 2026
The subject matter was also personal for the creative, who cut his teeth as a writer on such shows as Search Party and The Other Two and as a consulting producer on Big Mouth.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
My career was in customer service as a representative, supervisor, manager, project manager, and subject matter expert.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Thurman, already honored with a 2024 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship and a 2023 Florida Review Editor’s Prize for Fiction, has a masterful command of her subject matter and the complexities of a family drama in her first novel.
—Literary Hub, 12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for subject matter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subject matter
Noun
-
The conservatism that would eventually hobble the daytime soap had its roots in this era, when soap viewers with especially fragile sensibilities had specific conceptions of what topics a soap should cover and made no bones about airing their protests.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
Ironically, one of the few issues that Jeffries is identified with is the very topic that now most threatens to divide the Democratic Party.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
These features are designed to support a wide range of content creation needs, from interviews and vlogs to documentary and narrative filmmaking.—
Deadline,
Deadline,
20 May 2026
-
Ephemera is so often illustrative of the inner life of a character, a direct, beating correlative of the contents of their hearts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
Surawut explained that Thailand has not been producing many martial arts action films recently, although that is the genre the country is known for internationally, and decided to resurrect it for a younger audience with a video gaming theme.—
Liz Shackleton,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
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The seated section, meanwhile, was packed with polite Gen Xers and boomers, with men sporting collared shirts and varying stages of baldness otherwise being the closest thing to a common theme.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Canadian health officials on Sunday confirmed that one of four Canadians who returned from the MV Hondius cruise ship, the subject of an international Andes hantavirus outbreak, tested positive for hantavirus.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
-
Over the past three weeks, the collapse of the once-tight bond between two of the most prominent names in AI has been the subject of a high-profile trial in Oakland, California, after Musk sued Altman and OpenAI in 2024 for allegedly violating their commitment to keep OpenAI as a nonprofit.—
Ashley Capoot,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Denim has increasingly become a recurring motif on the Air Force 1 Low and in the wider world of sneakers, and the material will soon make its way to the AF1’s most infamous colorway.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
20 May 2026
-
The design also nods to traditional Kente cloth, a sacred Ghanaian textile and a recurring motif in Boateng’s creations.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Attack being investigated as hate crime Authorities vowed to get to the bottom of the motive behind the attack.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
19 May 2026
-
Police have not released a specific motive for the shooting the suspect's name.—
Dennis Romero,
NBC news,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Each object was made by someone, with a precise intention—to embody a necessary purpose, once held in relation to a community.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
-
Iran, which says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, was said to have included some nuclear concessions in its latest proposal to end the war.—
Michelle L. Price,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
To make matters worse, Haliburton dealt with shingles during his recovery this season.—
Law Murray,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
The Stanford-within-Stanford Baker exposes matters to you even if this exclusive core feels impossibly distant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subject matter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subject%20matter. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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