incorporeal
adjective
in·cor·po·re·al
ˌin-(ˌ)kȯr-ˈpȯr-ē-əl 
1
: not corporeal : having no material body or form
2
: of, relating to, or constituting a right that is based on property (such as bonds or patents) which has no intrinsic value
Examples of incorporeal in a Sentence
ghosts are supposed to be incorporeal
Recent Examples on the Web
In fact, magical life has the potential to be even more radically incorporeal than our own.
—
Literary Hub, 26 June 2025
Indeed, in stark contrast to the incorporeal nature of a digital image, each of Winant’s photographs is, in a sense, a discrete body: a fallible material entity that boasts a hidden physical history and that will compositionally deteriorate over time.
—Jessica Simmons-Reid, Artforum, 1 June 2025
To the casual observer, the data industry can seem incorporeal, its products conjured out of weightless bits.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Oct. 2024
If reason teaches that God is incorporeal, this means that God has no body; God does not physically see, nor do people see God.
—Randy L. Friedman, The Conversation, 16 Feb. 2024
Their physical bodies — and your own — get entangled with those pictorial references to bodily experience, bringing a ghostly, incorporeal picture home.
—Christopher Knightart Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2022
The digital files are incorporeal.
—BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2021
The network is incorporeal.
—J.m. Ledgard, Wired, 12 May 2021
After all, if someone can live without a brain, this would seem to open the door to belief in an incorporeal soul.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 27 Jan. 2020
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Literary Hub, 26 June 2025
Indeed, in stark contrast to the incorporeal nature of a digital image, each of Winant’s photographs is, in a sense, a discrete body: a fallible material entity that boasts a hidden physical history and that will compositionally deteriorate over time.
—Jessica Simmons-Reid, Artforum, 1 June 2025
To the casual observer, the data industry can seem incorporeal, its products conjured out of weightless bits.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Oct. 2024
If reason teaches that God is incorporeal, this means that God has no body; God does not physically see, nor do people see God.
—Randy L. Friedman, The Conversation, 16 Feb. 2024
Their physical bodies — and your own — get entangled with those pictorial references to bodily experience, bringing a ghostly, incorporeal picture home.
—Christopher Knightart Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2022
The digital files are incorporeal.
—BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2021
The network is incorporeal.
—J.m. Ledgard, Wired, 12 May 2021
After all, if someone can live without a brain, this would seem to open the door to belief in an incorporeal soul.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 27 Jan. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Incorporeal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incorporeal. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incorporeal
adjective
in·cor·po·re·al
ˌin-(ˌ)kȯr-ˈpōr-ē-əl
-ˈpȯr-
: having no material body or form : immaterial
Legal Definition
incorporeal
adjective
in·cor·po·re·al
ˌin-kȯr-ˈpōr-ē-əl
: not tangible : having no material body or form
incorporeal hereditaments
an incorporeal right
compare corporeal
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