1
as in incorporeal
not capable of being perceived by the sense of touch
the rich colors used in the wall coverings and furniture give the room an impalpable warmth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in invisible
not perceptible by a sense or by the mind
any difference between the two sound systems is impalpable to all but the most discerning audiophiles
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Recent Examples of impalpable
Since man is unable to create—that is to constitute from an apparition, from the impalpable, a solid thing, or to make a thing out of nothing—, every Daguerreian operation would catch, detach, and retain, by fixing onto itself, one of the layers of the photographed body.
—
Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
The principle consists in mixing, with the sewage, quantities of lime and clay, combining with the carbonic acid of the fecal matters to form carbonate of lime, in an impalpable powder.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 15 June 2022
This is the primordial key point, the impalpable idea that will finally turn out to be the engine of your business.
—Xavier Preterit, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
And so, with 24 regular-season games remaining for the Utah Jazz after the All-Star break, hard-and-fast conclusions about this team remain frustratingly elusive and impalpable.
—Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 Feb. 2022
But there’s an argument to be made that the colorless, soundless, impalpable structures of symbols and relationships of science are far more revealing.
—Kc Cole, Wired, 22 Dec. 2021
Afterward, as in Vienna, property relations were forever altered, which had an impalpable but unmistakable effect on attitudes.
—New York Times, 29 June 2021
The full album as well features similar, almost impalpable, differences.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2021
In these distant and impalpable moments, I am touched.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2021
Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
The principle consists in mixing, with the sewage, quantities of lime and clay, combining with the carbonic acid of the fecal matters to form carbonate of lime, in an impalpable powder.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 15 June 2022
This is the primordial key point, the impalpable idea that will finally turn out to be the engine of your business.
—Xavier Preterit, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
And so, with 24 regular-season games remaining for the Utah Jazz after the All-Star break, hard-and-fast conclusions about this team remain frustratingly elusive and impalpable.
—Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 Feb. 2022
But there’s an argument to be made that the colorless, soundless, impalpable structures of symbols and relationships of science are far more revealing.
—Kc Cole, Wired, 22 Dec. 2021
Afterward, as in Vienna, property relations were forever altered, which had an impalpable but unmistakable effect on attitudes.
—New York Times, 29 June 2021
The full album as well features similar, almost impalpable, differences.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2021
In these distant and impalpable moments, I am touched.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impalpable
Adjective
-
Followers of the Abrahamic religions are supposed to treat God as immaterial and incorporeal, yet these early Yahweh worshippers imagined him as fully embodied.—
Manvir Singh,
New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Positioned as a large-scale genre event, the series updates the legendary SFX property with a contemporary political and social edge, with Shun Oguri leading the cast as a detective hunting a seemingly incorporeal killer.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Beneath the surface, the invisible becomes visible as streams of bubbles rise toward the light.—
Michael James Rocha,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Dec. 2025
-
We’re expected to manage our own emotional upheaval while also producing holiday magic for everyone else—coordinating meals, gifts, photos, traditions, social calendars, and the invisible labor of ensuring no one’s discomfort disrupts the festive spirit.—
Rebecca Soffer,
Time,
4 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Poland has already had its tradition of Corpus Domini flower carpets recognized by UNESCO, and Galicia is trying to have its tradition listed along with other countries as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
-
The February air was motionless, intangible.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
All videos created with Omni will include Google’s imperceptible digital watermark, SynthID, but Google is also adding content credentials verification to the Gemini app.—
Kaitlyn Huamani,
Chicago Tribune,
19 May 2026
-
Of course, part of the challenge was the outward invisibility of all the changes—to anyone who had not been at sea, my new life was imperceptible.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
The perpetual buzz of mining bees mingled with the shuffle of rabbits through the bushes, woodpeckers’ rapid-fire drilling, and the hard-staccato tchack, tchack, tchack of ravenlike birds known as jackdaws, creating a subtle symphony.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Look for alcohol-free, subtle formulas the goal is a whisper of fragrance, not a perfume cloud that announces itself from across the room.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impalpable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impalpable. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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