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.
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complete or whole, especially not castrated or emasculated.
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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
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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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.
Mangoes kept at 12°C retained intact cell walls and starch granules even after 24 days.
From Science Daily • May 23, 2026
The project faced the usual realities—bureaucracy, competing interests, cost overruns—yet the design stayed remarkably intact because important stakeholders insisted on integrity over novelty.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Fortunately, the fire was burning at a low intensity at the time, and when fire crews performed an initial assessment, they observed that the stand of trees remained largely intact, according to the park service.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
The best news for markets would be if the current status quo between the U.S. and China remained intact, according to my colleague Reshma Kapadia.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
At Fukushima, while radiation did escape from the reactor vessels, the protective shells around the reactors remained intact.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
