impervious

American  

[im-pur-vee-uhs] / ɪmˈpɜr vi əs /

Also imperviable

adjective

1. not permitting penetration or passage; impenetrable.

   The coat is impervious to rain.

2. incapable of being injured or impaired.

   impervious to wear and tear.

3. incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected.

   impervious to reason; impervious to another's suffering.

   Synonyms:

   closed, invulnerable

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impervious British  

/ ɪmˈpɜːvɪəs /

adjective

1. not able to be penetrated, as by water, light, etc; impermeable

2. not able to be influenced (by) or not receptive (to)

   impervious to argument

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Other Word Forms

• imperviously adverb
• imperviousness noun

Etymology

Origin of impervious

From the Latin word impervius, dating back to 1640–50. See im- ², pervious

Compare meaning

How does impervious compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• pervious vs. impervious

Example Sentences

In fact, Roger Pielke, a longtime climate scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, notes U.S. emissions have been remarkably impervious to presidential terms: relative to economic output, they have declined steadily for decades.

From The Wall Street Journal

He then pivoted to defend his economic strategy against fears of a market downturn, portraying the U.S. as impervious to pressure.

From The Wall Street Journal

But ferocious fire in recent years, fueled by climate change, has proved fatal to the trees experts once thought were impervious to flame.

From Los Angeles Times

Unfortunately, the Dodgers are not impervious to injury issues.

From Los Angeles Times

Hogan’s gimmick of “hulking up” via crowd energy to become impervious to pain would help the 6’8 Bollea bring matches to a Hollywood ending that didn’t rely on technical wrestling ability.

From Salon

Related Words

• immune
• impassable
• impenetrable
• inaccessible
• invulnerable
• resistant
• unaffected
• unmoved