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I tried to register my mom for a regular zoom meeting, and I gave her email to the host of the zoom. After the meeting was over, I received this message from the host:

enter image description here (She unsubstantiated- maybe by mistake)

When I asked what that actually means there was no answer. Did she 'unsubstantiate' or her account? (the automatic corrector has already underlined 'unsubstantiate' as incorrect) Intrigued, I tried to google it and most entries I got are definitions of the adjective unsubstantiated.

I did find the verb in M-W:

to divest of substantiality : make unsubstantial

but I did not perfectly understand how this verb applies in this context. Is this technical jargon? Why not say disappeared or terminated or something which could explain what happened to her email or account?

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  • 2
    It looks like an "auto-correct" mistake for "unsubscribed".
    – Greybeard
    Jul 25, 2022 at 10:14
  • 1
    @JohnLawler Yes, this reads something like "Keyboard not attached. Press F5 to continue." :)
    – fev
    Jul 25, 2022 at 14:41
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    This person's use of the word is highly idiosyncratic. We can try to guess what may have been meant by it, but such guessing is unlikely to be of use to the future visitors to this site.
    – jsw29
    Jul 25, 2022 at 16:31
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    it's almost certainly the wrong word. Sessions are instantiated, dropping the session would be the opposite. That may be it, but either way, this isn't proper jargon.
    – jimm101
    Jul 25, 2022 at 20:41
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    The M-W definition clearly points to a verb “unsubstantiate” (to divest …”). The question therefore relates to the use of that verb and not to suppositions about circumstance. It may not be an easy matter, but answers should focus on how an invitation and registration may be divested of substance. Leave open.
    – Anton
    Jul 29, 2022 at 7:00

1 Answer 1

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This is clearly not a clear or standard use of the term, but it also does not seem incorrect. This seems to be intended to mean that she left the meeting, making her digital presence vanish (or in his words, unsubstantiated).

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  • This seems to describe "unsubscribed".
    – Greybeard
    Jul 25, 2022 at 15:57
  • No, not unsubscribed. Unsubscribed implies a subscription, where someone agrees to some recurring service. If something is present and distinct it can be described as substantial. For something to unsubstantiate for a physical object would mean to cease to become firmly physically present -- thats the sort of thing you might find in a fictional description of a wizard vanishing. That's the sort of use here, but for a digital presence vanishing.
    – Schroeder
    Aug 27, 2022 at 15:31

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