haptic

adjective

hap·​tic ˈhap-tik 

1

: relating to or based on the sense of touch

2

: characterized by a predilection for the sense of touch

a haptic person

Did you know?

Haptic felt its way into English in the 19th century as a back-formation of haptics, a noun which was borrowed from the New Latin hapticē (meaning "science of touch," and derived ultimately from the Greek haptesthai, meaning "to touch") in the 1700s. Haptic was originally a medical synonym for tactile. By the 20th century, it had developed a psychological sense, describing individuals whose perception supposedly depended primarily on touch rather than sight. Although almost no one today divides humans into haptic and visual personalities, English retains the broadened psychological sense of haptic as well as the older "tactile" sense.

Examples of haptic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This update also includes a fair amount of fixes and improvements to the overall software package, from improved performance for the media apps, to better responsiveness from the haptic trunk and rear window buttons. — Anthony Karcz, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Apple refined haptic feedback until a sheet of glass could convincingly acknowledge a virtual button press, and Volkswagen recently bowed to consumer pressure and announced that physical buttons would return to future models. — New Atlas, 18 July 2026

This particular unit was the recipient of Ferrari’s new button-rich steering wheel, which ditched the old haptic and touch controls for starting the engine and other functions. — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 15 July 2026

This year’s revisions to the Surface family focus on the silicon upgrades, while also introducing minor haptic-feedback enhancements via the optional Surface Slim Pen. — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 9 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from haptics

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for haptic

• monosynaptic

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Medical Definition

haptic

adjective

hap·​tic ˈhap-tik 

variants also haptical

-ti-kəl 

1

: relating to or based on the sense of touch

the haptic mode of perception

—Colin Gordon

2

: characterized by a predilection for the sense of touch

a haptic person