Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Not perceptible to the touch; intangible.
- adjective Difficult to perceive or grasp by the mind.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Incapable of being perceived by touch; wanting palpable substance or consistency; too unsubstantial or too fine to be felt.
- Hence That cannot be grasped by the intellect; incomprehensible; intangible: as, impalpable distinctions.
- Synonyms Imperceptible, intangible, unsubstantial.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Not palpable; that cannot be felt; extremely fine, so that no grit can be perceived by touch.
- adjective Not material; intangible; incorporeal.
- adjective Not apprehensible, or readily apprehensible, by the mind; unreal.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Not able to be
perceived by the senses (especially bytouch );intangible orinsubstantial
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective imperceptible to the senses or the mind
- adjective not perceptible to the touch
- adjective incapable of being perceived by the senses especially the sense of touch
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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If we want endless, satisfying blue, we must look up to where it dwells in impalpable space, shining like solid enamel, or liquid and vague.
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As for microscopic lesions, once detected in mammograms, a doctor is duty bound to treat them as there is no way of knowing whether these early "impalpable" cancers will be aggressive or harmless.
Pink Alert Seema Singh 2010
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All sorts of higher abstractions bring with them the same kind of impalpable appeal.
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All sorts of higher abstractions bring with them the same kind of impalpable appeal.
Varieties of Religious Experience, a Study in Human Nature William James 1876
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You who listen to me Sunday after Sunday will not suspect me of seeking to minimise either of these two aspects of our Lord's mission and operation, but I do believe that very largely the glad thought of an indwelling Christ, who actually abides and works in our hearts, and is not only for us in the heavens, or with us by some kind of impalpable and metaphorical presence, but in simple, that is to say, in spiritual reality is in our spirits, has faded away from the consciousness of the
Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians; Epistles of St. Peter and St. John Alexander Maclaren 1868
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Imagine, further, this sand to be invisible, impalpable, yet to retain all the weight and density of sand.
THE HEATHEN 2010
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Consider it mud, invisible, impalpable, but heavy as mud.
THE HEATHEN 2010
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Imagine, further, this sand to be invisible, impalpable, yet to retain all the weight and density of sand.
THE HEATHEN 2010
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These drawings adorno contact with real real power and varied assortment varies impalpable awakening and elegant ideas.
Ornament Serenity | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009
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Though the pack rat typically cuts a reclusive figure, Gavin Pretor-Pinney is an exception: a man who loves the open air and collects impalpable things that will never clutter shelves, gather dust or annoy spouses.
Cirrus Concerns Peter Pesic 2011
bilby commented on the word impalpable
*squints*
September 10, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word impalpable
Usage on gunpowder.
October 14, 2008