impervious

adjective im·per·vi·ous \ (ˌ)im-ˈpər-vē-əs \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Examples: impervious in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of impervious

1 a : not allowing entrance or passage : impenetrable

a coat impervious to rain

b : not capable of being damaged or harmed

a carpet impervious to rough treatment

2 : not capable of being affected or disturbed

impervious to criticism

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imperviously

adverb

—

imperviousness

noun

See impervious defined for English-language learners

See impervious defined for kids

impervious was our Word of the Day on 12/07/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of impervious in a Sentence

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
… Berlin struck me, above all, as impervious to any political reactions whatever … —Stephen Spender, New York Times Magazine, 30 Oct.1977
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

For many years, the Lower East Side appeared impervious to the gentrification sweeping many Manhattan neighborhoods.

— New York Times, "Offered $54 Million for Air Rights, Co-op Says ‘No Thanks’," 14 June 2018
The joke may still be on Xi, however, as many Chinese users already access HBO shows through VPNs, which are impervious to the censorship.

— natasha bach, Fortune, "John Oliver Mocked President Xi Jinping. Now His Show—And All of HBO—Are Blocked In China," 25 June 2018
Their minds are impervious to Maeve's (Thandie Newton) takeover attempts and Ashley Stubbs' (Luke Hemsworth) voice commands.

— sandra upson, WIRED, "Westworld Recap, Season 2 Episode 9: The Many Lives of the Man in Black," 18 June 2018
The storage facility is highly secured and the casks are impervious to weather and risk of attack.

— wayne parry, The Seattle Times, "Oldest US nuke plant, near Jersey shore, closing Sept. 17," 2 July 2018
Among the town’s federal permit requirements is a 25 percent reduction of impervious surfaces by 2025, Kline said.

— allan vought, The Aegis, "Bel Air approves contracts for parking garage striping, Armory security upgrades," 22 June 2018
The company has increasingly designed its computers and mobile devices to be impervious to decryption, even by Apple itself.

— glenn fleishman, Fortune, "Apple Blocks Hack That Feds and Police Use to Crack iPhones," 13 June 2018
Remember: No shoe is impervious to endless days of sweat and sidewalk dirt.

— megan gustashaw, GQ, "16 Shoes You Can Proudly Wear Without Socks," 17 May 2018
The most prominent is a mystery that has proved impervious to easy explanation: why wage increases haven’t been more robust, when the market continues to edge toward full employment.

— natalie kitroeff, New York Times, "Jobless Rate Looks Like Old Times, but the Economy Doesn’t," 4 May 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1640

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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impervious Synonyms

IMPERVIOUS Defined for English Language Learners

impervious

adjective

Definition of impervious for English Language Learners

: not allowing something (such as water or light) to enter or pass through
: not bothered or affected by something

IMPERVIOUS Defined for Kids

impervious

adjective im·per·vi·ous \ im-ˈpər-vē-əs \

Definition 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

adjective im·per·vi·ous \ (ˈ)im-ˈpər-vē-əs \

medical Definition of impervious

: not allowing entrance or passage

medication packaged in a container impervious to air and light

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imperviousness

noun

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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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impervious

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imperviously

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impervious was our Word of the Day on 12/07/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of impervious in a Sentence

Recent Examples of impervious from the Web

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Origin and Etymology of impervious

impervious Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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IMPERVIOUS Defined for English Language Learners

impervious

Definition of impervious for English Language Learners

IMPERVIOUS Defined for Kids

impervious

Definition of impervious for Students

Medical Dictionary

impervious

medical Definition of impervious

imperviousness

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