incorporeal

[ in-kawr-pawr-ee-uhl, -pohr- ]

adjective

1. not corporeal or material; insubstantial.

   Synonyms: immaterial, spiritual, bodiless

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of nonmaterial beings.
3. Law. without material existence but existing in contemplation of law, as a franchise.

incorporeal

/ ɪnˌkɔːpəˈriːɪtɪ; ˌɪnkɔːˈpɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. without material form, body, or substance
2. spiritual or metaphysical
3. law having no material existence but existing by reason of its annexation of something material, such as an easement, touchline, copyright, etc

   an incorporeal hereditament

Derived Forms

• ˌincorˈporeally, adverb
• incorporeity, noun

Other Words From

• incor·pore·ali·ty noun
• incor·pore·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of incorporeal¹

1525–35; < Latin incorpore ( us ) + -al ¹. See in- ³, corporeal

Example Sentences

He investigates a service that promises to make him incorporeal, to “get rid of the burden of having a body” — because of that “mole,” I guess.

From Los Angeles Times

“It would mean that any criticism of the central government can be described as a terrorist act because the honor of India is its incorporeal property,” the court said in its bail order.

From Seattle Times

One of the boys, Youssef, has a shapeshifting double named Brother who is “more than incorporeal but less than living” and follows along as each member of the family determines his place in the world.

From New York Times

That kind of jurisprudence hands the megaphone, along with almost incalculable political power, to incorporeal entities, and leaves ordinary citizens who struggle to advance the public interest feeling powerless and straining to be heard.

From Salon

Their physical bodies — and your own — get entangled with those pictorial references to bodily experience, bringing a ghostly, incorporeal picture home.

From Los Angeles Times