impervious
Americanadjective
-
not permitting penetration or passage; impenetrable.
The coat is impervious to rain.
-
incapable of being injured or impaired.
impervious to wear and tear.
-
incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected.
impervious to reason; impervious to another's suffering.
- Synonyms:
- closed, invulnerable
adjective
-
not able to be penetrated, as by water, light, etc; impermeable
-
not able to be influenced (by) or not receptive (to)
impervious to argument
Other Word Forms
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:
Explanation
An impervious surface is one that can't be penetrated. The word is often followed by "to," as in "His steely personality made him impervious to jokes about his awful haircut." Most of the sentences you'll run across using impervious will be followed by the word "to" and a noun. Things are often described as being impervious to physical assaults like heat, water, bullets, weather, and attack, but just as frequently to less tangible things, like reason, criticism, pain, and pressure. The word comes from Latin: in- + pervius, meaning "not letting things through." A common synonym is impermeable.
Vocabulary lists containing impervious
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Lord of the Flies
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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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.
Josh Allen is elite, but the Bills aren’t impervious to problems — check out the Chargers game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Though yields have climbed and the Fed has already raised rates once, economic growth has stayed resilient—fueled by historic spending on artificial-intelligence infrastructure by tech companies that seem impervious to rising borrowing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Properties with at least five acres of impervious surface will be subject to the rules.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Although she’s normally impervious to noise—even the most blood-curdling shriek from the many horror films we watch together can’t stir her—the sound of my voice emerging from her collar gave her pause.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
Whatever emanations may seep from them at night, he will be impervious to them.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
