impalpable

[ im-pal-puh-buhl ]

adjective

1. not palpable; incapable of being perceived by the sense of touch; intangible.
2. difficult for the mind to grasp readily or easily:

   impalpable distinctions.

3. (of powder) so fine that when rubbed between the fingers no grit is felt.

impalpable

/ ɪmˈpælpəbəl /

adjective

1. imperceptible, esp to the touch

   impalpable shadows

2. difficult to understand; abstruse

Derived Forms

• imˌpalpaˈbility, noun
• imˈpalpably, adverb

Other Words From

• im·palpa·bili·ty noun
• im·palpa·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of impalpable¹

First recorded in 1500–10; im- ² + palpable

Example Sentences

Through their lenses, we see different visions of the artist in his studio, surrounded by his attempts to capture something solid but impalpable about humanity.

From Seattle Times

But how the squishy, pinkish-gray, wrinkled mass of the physical brain gives rise to these impalpable experiences remains a mystery.

From Scientific American

Afterward, as in Vienna, property relations were forever altered, which had an impalpable but unmistakable effect on attitudes.

From New York Times

The smell and taste of things, Proust wrote, hold in the “tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence the vast structure of recollection.”

From New York Times

I had been pushed and pulled by the dominant forces of that place, some impalpable and some visible, as it formed and forced me into the imperfect person who eventually became a mother.

From Salon