intact
Americanadjective
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not altered, broken, or impaired; remaining uninjured, sound, or whole; untouched; unblemished.
The vase remained intact despite rough handling.
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not changed or diminished; not influenced or swayed.
Despite misfortune, his faith is still intact.
-
complete or whole, especially not castrated or emasculated.
-
having the hymen unbroken; virginal.
adjective
Usage
What are other ways to say intact? Something that is intact is not altered, broken, or impaired. How does intact compare to synonyms entire, complete, and perfect? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of intact
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin intāctus untouched, equivalent to in- in- 3 + tāctus, past participle of tangere to touch
Explanation
If something is intact it's still in one piece. If you'd like your sand castle to remain intact, I suggest you build it away from the water. The Latin word intactus means “untouched,” but today something is intact if it's whole, if it hasn't fallen apart. After a long day at work, you might feel lucky to be intact. Your letter to the post office states that you would prefer your packages to arrive intact from now on.
Vocabulary lists containing intact
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Tangerine
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ACT Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Intact biomolecules suggest active or recently living cells, while degraded ones indicate fossilized "geomolecules" from long ago.
From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2025
She said she goes to the Intact Centre in Preston, part of the Warm Space programme, with her two younger children four times a week.
From BBC • Aug. 3, 2024
Inspired by Amy Chozick’s 2018 book “Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns and One Intact Glass Ceiling,” it follows four women as they cover a fictional primary for a wide variety of outlets.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2024
“There are general trends. Intact dogs are more territorial than neutered and spayed dogs,” Farnsworth said.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 22, 2023
“Oh. My mistake! Seems your name is on the Memory Intact List. Someone’s off to the Bureau, I’ll bet. Best thirty years of my life. Anyways, good afternoon!”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
