Tactile has many relatives in English, from the oft-synonymous tangible to familiar words like intact, tact, tangent, contingent, and even entire. All of these can be traced back to the Latin verb tangere, meaning “to touch.” Tactile was adopted by English speakers in the early 1600s (possibly by way of the French tactile) from the Latin adjective tactilis (“tangible”). In light of tactile having tangere for a touchstone, its dual senses of “perceptible by touch” and “of, relating to, or being the sense of touch” are perfectly sensible. Since the advent of film, television, and, ahem, touchscreens, a new sense also appears to be developing, as tactile is increasingly used to suggest that something visual is particularly evocative or suggestive of a certain texture.
Examples of tactile in a Sentence
He not only had visual difficulties but tactile ones, too—witness his grasping his wife's head and mistaking it for a hat …—Oliver Sacks, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2002There is a tactile and therefore somatic dimension to stroking the chalk that keeps the artist in constant, responsible and responsive touch with his emerging creation.—Jed Perl, New Republic, 17 June 2002The keyboard has good tactile feedback, and the touch pad is responsive without being too twitchy.—Bruce Brown, PC Magazine, 20 Feb. 2001… nothing prepared me for the tactile reality of the original volumes, leaf after carefully written leaf over which his hand had travelled …—Edmund Morris, New Yorker, 16 Jan. 1995Near midday the heat of the sun bounced up from the bare patches of soil to hit with an almost tactile force.—Edward O. Wilson, Smithsonian, October 1984
The thick brushstrokes give the painting a tactile quality.
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To return to their focus on (relatively) tactile action, clear emotional stakes, and — eventually — the kind of reluctant team-building that forges strength out of the same differences that threaten to tear our world apart.—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Apr. 2025 Layering different textures — like a soft duvet, cozy blankets and plush pillows — can enhance the tactile experience of your bedscape.—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025 The mill embraces the beauty of imperfection and asymmetry in Chaos Aesthetics, a trend concept that favors expressive textures, unconventional finishes and rich tactile experiences.—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 17 Apr. 2025 The tactile feedback guides your finger, and there was no appreciable lag in our sessions.—ArsTechnica, 18 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tactile
Word History
Etymology
French or Latin; French, from Latin tactilis, from tangere to touch — more at tangent entry 2
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