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.
-
not changed or diminished; not influenced or swayed.
Despite misfortune, his faith is still intact.
-
complete or whole, especially not castrated or emasculated.
-
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
- intactly adverb
- intactness noun
Etymology
Origin of intact
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin intāctus untouched, equivalent to in- in- 3 + tāctus, past participle of tangere to touch
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.
The scientists genetically deleted the sensor in one group and left it intact in another.
He said he believes the Legislature needs to weigh the need to pay survivors against the obligation to keep the social safety net intact.
From Los Angeles Times
In Mr. Barnett’s hands, “Rumpelstiltskin” has undergone a very light refurbishing, keeping the original plot mostly intact with the welcome addition of the author’s trademark wry humor.
This behavior suggests a possible evolutionary connection between Mamonoviridae family viruses that use the intact nucleus as a viral factory and giant viruses such as pandoravirus that disrupt the nuclear membrane.
From Science Daily
"While our access controls and data protection policies remained intact, this behaviour did not meet our intended Copilot experience, which is designed to exclude protected content from Copilot access," they added.
From BBC
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.
