1
as in incorporeal
not capable of being perceived by the sense of touch
the rich colors used in the wall coverings and furniture give the room an impalpable warmth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in invisible
not perceptible by a sense or by the mind
any difference between the two sound systems is impalpable to all but the most discerning audiophiles
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Recent Examples of impalpable
Since man is unable to create—that is to constitute from an apparition, from the impalpable, a solid thing, or to make a thing out of nothing—, every Daguerreian operation would catch, detach, and retain, by fixing onto itself, one of the layers of the photographed body.
—
Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
The principle consists in mixing, with the sewage, quantities of lime and clay, combining with the carbonic acid of the fecal matters to form carbonate of lime, in an impalpable powder.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 15 June 2022
This is the primordial key point, the impalpable idea that will finally turn out to be the engine of your business.
—Xavier Preterit, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
And so, with 24 regular-season games remaining for the Utah Jazz after the All-Star break, hard-and-fast conclusions about this team remain frustratingly elusive and impalpable.
—Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 Feb. 2022
But there’s an argument to be made that the colorless, soundless, impalpable structures of symbols and relationships of science are far more revealing.
—Kc Cole, Wired, 22 Dec. 2021
Afterward, as in Vienna, property relations were forever altered, which had an impalpable but unmistakable effect on attitudes.
—New York Times, 29 June 2021
The full album as well features similar, almost impalpable, differences.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2021
In these distant and impalpable moments, I am touched.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2021
Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
The principle consists in mixing, with the sewage, quantities of lime and clay, combining with the carbonic acid of the fecal matters to form carbonate of lime, in an impalpable powder.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 15 June 2022
This is the primordial key point, the impalpable idea that will finally turn out to be the engine of your business.
—Xavier Preterit, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
And so, with 24 regular-season games remaining for the Utah Jazz after the All-Star break, hard-and-fast conclusions about this team remain frustratingly elusive and impalpable.
—Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 Feb. 2022
But there’s an argument to be made that the colorless, soundless, impalpable structures of symbols and relationships of science are far more revealing.
—Kc Cole, Wired, 22 Dec. 2021
Afterward, as in Vienna, property relations were forever altered, which had an impalpable but unmistakable effect on attitudes.
—New York Times, 29 June 2021
The full album as well features similar, almost impalpable, differences.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2021
In these distant and impalpable moments, I am touched.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impalpable
Adjective
-
Followers of the Abrahamic religions are supposed to treat God as immaterial and incorporeal, yet these early Yahweh worshippers imagined him as fully embodied.—
Manvir Singh,
New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Positioned as a large-scale genre event, the series updates the legendary SFX property with a contemporary political and social edge, with Shun Oguri leading the cast as a detective hunting a seemingly incorporeal killer.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
And public health is so invisible.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
-
There, on May 29, Sojourner Truth delivered a legendary speech that called on attendees to reject the racial and gender biases used to limit her place in society and to defy a status quo that devalued her as a Black woman and treated her as invisible and expendable.—
Jocelyn Frye,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
For many of us, there’s an intangible magic to aviation that keeps us coming back even as ticket costs rise and airport crowds swell.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
-
And how could such an indistinct and intangible thing be cured?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
My dream foundation is one that conceals blemishes but is so imperceptible that people will ask me about my skin care routine.—
Kaelin Dodge,
InStyle,
16 June 2026
-
All videos created with Omni will include Google's imperceptible digital watermark, SynthID, but Google is also adding content credentials verification to the Gemini app.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
Star power takes a neutral cat-eye base and turns it into a subtle statement moment.—
Amanda Le,
InStyle,
17 June 2026
-
Where their Florida style is bold and flamboyant, the ranch is subtle and defined by a rich, earthy palette.—
Elizabeth Kiefer,
Architectural Digest,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impalpable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impalpable. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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