invisible

American  

[in-viz-uh-buhl] / ɪnˈvɪz ə bəl /

adjective

1. not visible; not perceptible by the eye.

   invisible fluid.

2. withdrawn from or out of sight; hidden.

   an invisible seam.

   Synonyms:

   obscure, veiled

3. not perceptible or discernible by the mind.

   invisible differences.

4. not ordinarily found in financial statements or reflected in statistics or a listing.

   Goodwill is an invisible asset to a business.

5. concealed from public knowledge.

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noun

1. an invisible thing or being.

2. the invisible, the unseen or spiritual world.

invisible British  

/ ɪnˈvɪzəbəl /

adjective

1. not visible; not able to be perceived by the eye

   invisible rays

2. concealed from sight; hidden

3. not easily seen or noticed

   invisible mending

4. kept hidden from public view; secret; clandestine

5. economics of or relating to services rather than goods in relation to the invisible balance

   invisible earnings

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noun

1. economics an invisible item of trade; service

Other Word Forms

• invisibility noun
• invisibleness noun
• invisibly adverb
• quasi-invisible adjective
• quasi-invisibly adverb

Etymology

Origin of invisible

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word invīsibilis. See in- ³, visible

Explanation

If you are invisible, you can't be seen with the naked eye, but you can do an awful lot of spying. When you do something embarrassing, you often wish you were invisible. Germs are invisible, as are odors. A good question to ask someone is whether they would rather be able to fly or be invisible. Flight gives you freedom to travel, but if you are invisible, you have the ability to sneak around and see things you would not normally be able to see. Which would you prefer?

Example Sentences

Those defending the project, meanwhile, were at pains to note that it would be largely invisible to the public.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Until Noah, I thought an invisible string was only the name of a Taylor Swift song.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Using a laser, the team temporarily made proteins invisible in a strip at the back of a living cell to track how they moved.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

"Without international treaties monitoring these movements, the scale of the trade remains largely invisible to policy makers and the global community," he said.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

She retreated even further behind the invisible door and locked it behind her.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

• imperceptible
• microscopic
• unseen