incorporeal

American  

[in-kawr-pawr-ee-uhl, -pohr-] / ˌɪn kɔrˈpɔr i əl, -ˈpoʊr- /

adjective

1. not corporeal or material; insubstantial.

   Synonyms:

   immaterial, spiritual, bodiless

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of nonmaterial beings.

3. Law. without material existence but existing in contemplation of law, as a franchise.

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incorporeal British  

/ ɪnˌkɔːpəˈriːɪtɪ, ˌɪnkɔːˈpɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. without material form, body, or substance

2. spiritual or metaphysical

3. law having no material existence but existing by reason of its annexation of something material, such as an easement, touchline, copyright, etc

   an incorporeal hereditament

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Other Word Forms

• incorporeality noun
• incorporeally adverb
• incorporeity noun

Etymology

Origin of incorporeal

1525–35; < Latin incorpore ( us ) + -al ¹. See in- ³, corporeal

Explanation

Something that has no material form or physical substance can be described as incorporeal. If you believe in spirits or ghosts that can't be touched or seen but only felt, then you believe in the incorporeal. Incorporeal comes from a combination of the Latin root words in- meaning "not" and corpus meaning "body." Combined they form incorporeus, meaning "without body," which is precisely what something incorporeal is. A haunted house is plagued by incorporeal, or immaterial spirits. You don't see them, but they are there, rattling windows, slamming doors, scaring the living daylights out of you.

Example Sentences

Those $200 in chips made the questions of financial responsibility that loomed over me in every other avenue of my life gloriously incorporeal.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025

He investigates a service that promises to make him incorporeal, to “get rid of the burden of having a body” — because of that “mole,” I guess.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2024

“It would mean that any criticism of the central government can be described as a terrorist act because the honor of India is its incorporeal property,” the court said in its bail order.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2023

“A deity that rules communication is an incorporeal linguistic power.”

From The Verge • Nov. 1, 2021

Invisible, incorporeal, insubstantial as a murmur, Sarai slipped into their dreams, and what she discovered there, in the hours that followed, proved that the strangers were far from ridiculous.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor