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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
PC Magazine, 23 July 2025
The third module is Tune, an advanced input dial featuring a dynamic haptic motor that adjusts resistance and steps based on software conditions.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
One aspect of the Roma that the car world agreed on was that the haptic controls—especially the digital start button—all sucked.
—Jonny Lieberman, Robb Report, 1 July 2025
Photograph: Google Photograph: Google There are fresh animations that will feel more responsive, like how swiping a notification away from the notification drawer will feel springy with haptic feedback, and the notifications above and below will react to that action.
—Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 13 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Haptic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haptic. Accessed 28 Jul. 2025.
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