intangible

[ in-tan-juh-buhl ]

/ ɪnˈtæn dʒə bəl /

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See synonyms for: intangible / intangibles / intangibly on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not tangible; incapable of being perceived by the sense of touch, as incorporeal or immaterial things; impalpable.

not definite or clear to the mind: intangible arguments.

(of an asset) existing only in connection with something else, as the goodwill of a business.

noun

something intangible, especially an intangible asset: Intangibles are hard to value.

OTHER WORDS FOR intangible

2 vague, elusive, fleeting.

See synonyms for intangible on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of intangible

From the Medieval Latin word intangibilis, dating back to 1630–40. See in-³, tangible

OTHER WORDS FROM intangible

in·tan·gi·bil·i·ty, in·tan·gi·ble·ness, nounin·tan·gi·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use intangible in a sentence

Cutting our line of sight was an almost intangible curtain of fog, mist and light drizzle.
Washington was plunged into obscurity by Tuesday’s fog|Martin Weil|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
Even Alex Smith, who excelled at the intangibles and the X’s and O’s battle before the snap, struggled mightily.
Does Matthew Stafford make sense for Washington? Here’s how the QB would fit.|Sam Fortier|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
It’s a lot harder to value a company based on intangibles than one with hard assets.
We are all tech companies now|Alan Murray|January 25, 2021|Fortune
Journalists, fans and fellow athletes alike cannot help but marvel at greatness as something often intangible.
Dissecting athletic greatness: Nature, nurture, lucky breaks and a ‘quiet eye’|Liz Robbins|December 11, 2020|Washington Post

Spontaneity is one of the many intangible casualties of the pandemic.
You have until Nov. 22 to visit these six Smithsonian museums. Here’s what to expect.|Kelsey Ables|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
It was the very subtlety and intangibility of "they" that made him uneasy, made him less sure of himself and his own ability.
Still Jim|Honor Willsie Morrow
The wonderment as to what lay beyond, the sense that it was a limit to known things, its savage intangibility, its sheer silence!
First and Last|H. Belloc
Whenever that look appeared in her wild, bright, deeply black eyes, it invested them with a strange remoteness and intangibility.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
He could not tell what was behind that smile of hers—passionate aching or only some ideal, some chaste and glacial intangibility.
The Island Pharisees|John Galsworthy
Strange net-work of classes in a democratic country, of distinctions the more galling for their intangibility.
The Ordeal of Elizabeth|Elizabeth Von Arnim

British Dictionary definitions for intangible

intangible

/ (ɪnˈtændʒɪbəl) /

adjective

incapable of being perceived by touch; impalpable

imprecise or unclear to the mindintangible ideas

(of property or a business asset) saleable though not possessing intrinsic productive value

noun

something that is intangible

Derived forms of intangible

intangibility or intangibleness, nounintangibly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

intangible

OTHER WORDS FOR intangible

Origin of intangible

OTHER WORDS FROM intangible

Words related to intangible

How to use intangible in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for intangible

Derived forms of intangible