ballast vs substantial

ballast

noun
  • Anything that steadies emotion or the mind. 

  • Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship (or in the gondola of a balloon), to provide stability. 

  • A material, such as aggregate or precast concrete pavers, which employs its mass and the force of gravity to hold single-ply roof membranes in place. 

  • That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security. 

  • device used for stabilizing current in an electric circuit (e.g. in a tube lamp supply circuit) 

  • Coarse gravel or similar material laid to form a bed for roads or railroads, or in making concrete; track ballast. 

verb
  • To stabilize or load a ship with ballast. 

  • To lay ballast on the bed of a railroad track. 

  • To weigh down with a ballast. 

substantial

noun
  • Anything having substance; an essential part. 

adj
  • Most important; essential. 

  • Not imaginary; real; actual; true; veritable. 

  • Having a substance; actually existing. 

  • Corporeal; material; firm. 

  • Possessed of goods or an estate; moderately wealthy. 

  • Satisfying; having sufficient substance to be nourishing or filling. 

  • Large in size, quantity, or value; ample; significant. 

  • Having good substance; strong; stout; solid; firm. 

How often have the words ballast and substantial occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )