Definition of impervious
1a : not allowing entrance or passage : impenetrable a coat impervious to rainb : not capable of being damaged or harmed a carpet impervious to rough treatment
2 : not capable of being affected or disturbed impervious to criticism
imperviously
adverbimperviousness
nounExplore M-W
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Examples of impervious in a Sentence
… Berlin struck me, above all, as impervious to any political reactions whatever … —Stephen Spender, New York Times Magazine, 30 Oct.1977
He looked at her, impervious to her tears … —Jean Stafford, Children Are Bored on Sunday, (1945) 1953
… the trunk … is encased in so hard a bark, as to be almost impervious to a bullet … —Herman Melville, Omoo, 1847
the material for this coat is supposed to be impervious to rain
the rain forest is impervious to all but the most dedicated explorers
Recent Examples of impervious from the Web
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The Maryland Court of Appeals in December 2014 upheld a regulatory decision that gave Wagner permission to keep only about 3,000 square feet of impervious surface — half of what had been built.
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Bezos got a pass from investors for years on profits, seemingly impervious to Wall Street’s hunger for continual quarterly returns.
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The huge purple tent on the west end is equipped with heat lamps for cooler nights (the space is usable for at least three seasons) and impervious to rain (also friendly to dogs!).
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But the losses do provide a window into how even the blue-blooded Yankees, who have been largely impervious to the market forces that have affected the rest of baseball, have had difficulty maintaining their audience.
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The newest generation of tube governing systems – using personal computers that monitor and control the entire system – are considerably more user friendly as well as being nearly impervious to operator error.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impervious'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
The English language is far from impervious, and, of course, a great many Latinate terms have entered it throughout its history. Impervious is one of the many that broke through in the 17th century. It comes from the Latin impervius, which adds the prefix im- to pervius, meaning "passable" or "penetrable." Pervius-which is also the source of the relatively uncommon English word pervious, meaning "accessible" or "permeable"-comes from per-, meaning "through," and via, meaning "way."
Origin and Etymology of impervious
Latin impervius, from in- + pervius pervious
IMPERVIOUS Defined for English Language Learners
impervious
playDefinition of impervious for English Language Learners
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: not allowing something (such as water or light) to enter or pass through
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: not bothered or affected by something
IMPERVIOUS Defined for Kids
impervious
playDefinition of impervious for Students
1 : not letting something enter or pass through The coat is impervious to rain.
2 : not bothered or affected by something He's impervious to their criticism.
Medical Dictionary
impervious
playMedical Definition of impervious
: not allowing entrance or passage medication packaged in a container impervious to air and light
imperviousness
nounLearn More about impervious
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for impervious Spanish Central: Translation of impervious Nglish: Translation of impervious for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of impervious for Arabic speakers
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