palpable
Americanadjective
-
(usually prenominal) easily perceived by the senses or the mind; obvious
the excuse was a palpable lie
-
capable of being touched; tangible
-
med capable of being discerned by the sense of touch
a palpable tumour
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of palpable
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin palpābilis “touchable,” from palpā(re) “to stroke, touch” ( see palpate 1) + -bilis -ble
Explanation
When something is palpable, you can touch or handle it, even though the word is often used to describe things that usually can't be handled or touched, such as emotions or sensations. You probably won't see palpable used to describe, say, an egg or a doorknob or a motorcycle. Palpable is usually reserved for situations in which something invisible becomes so intense that it feels as though it has substance or weight. Someone who has experienced a death in the family might say that her grief feels palpable.
Vocabulary lists containing palpable
The Giver
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Power Suffix: -able
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Grade 10, List 1
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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.
Palpable chemistry between leads is, of course, crucial to young-adult romance adaptations — it’s what made streaming series like “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and “Normal People” successful.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2025
Low point: Palpable glee over HFPA’s downturn fails to turn the group into Hollywood’s chosen bunch of credibility-challenged, selfie-loving “critics.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2023
Palpable dread is built in to Yorke’s ghostly yawp; his voice moves through these songs like a cold wind.
From The New Yorker • May 5, 2016
After a Brush With Death, the Terror Is Still Palpable Investigation Discovery’s biggest discovery has been that there is enough real-life crime to fuel an entire cable channel.
From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2013
And lastly, and if we will Consult Chymical Experiments, we shall find the Advantages of the Chymical Doctrine above the Peripatetick Title little less then Palpable.
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.
