intangible

American  

[in-tan-juh-buhl] / ɪnˈtæn dʒə bəl /

adjective

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

2. not definite or clear to the mind.

   intangible arguments.

   Synonyms:

   fleeting, elusive, vague

3. (of an asset, such as reputation or a patent) not physical or financial, and often not measurable or transferable, but contributing to the value of a business.

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noun

• intangibles
  plural

1. something intangible, especially an intangible asset.

   Intangibles are hard to value.

intangible British  

/ ɪnˈtændʒɪbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being perceived by touch; impalpable

2. imprecise or unclear to the mind

   intangible ideas

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

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noun

1. something that is intangible

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intangibility
  noun
• intangibleness
  noun
• intangibly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• intangibles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of intangible

First recorded in 1630–40; from Medieval Latin intangibilis; see in- ³ ( def. ), tangible ( def. )

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Explanation

You can't touch this word — it is intangible. You can grasp the meaning of the word in your head, but you can't close your hands around it; you'll just put fingerprints on your monitor. The Latin verb tangere means "to touch," and the 16th-century English word tangible comes from it. Something intangible can't be touched physically, but most of the time it is understandable or even felt in the heart. Sadness can't be picked up and thrown in the garbage can because it is intangible, but you can throw away the tissues wet with tears. Laughing is intangible too, but you can hold onto movies, pets, and friends that make you laugh.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intangible intangibles

It’s the perfect example of how movies can make something as intangible as love go on forever.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

These gifts create an intangible, everpresent debt to be repaid.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

Management excluded stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

But cosplayers can also embody everything from fast food brands, internet browsers and memes to intangible ideas like gravity or hunger, while also experimenting with gender.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

And there were moments when he had thrown the ball so exquisitely, with such a soft, intangible touch, that it was hard to believe he couldn’t make a contribution somewhere.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Separately, the new chair of the OBR Jonathan Haskel is known for his argument that official statistics understate investment in intangibles like software and data.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Companies whose value is built on intangibles are able to attract investment and flourish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

So we asked workplace performance expert Henna Pryor how workers can go about making sure they have more of the intangibles that could be required to stand out in the AI era.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 11, 2026

As Gave notes, “so much of the valuation of the U.S. equity market is based on intangibles and the belief that ‘knowledge’ is the most important of assets.”

From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026

She knew that, while we were advanced for our age in some subjects, we were only average or below in some intangibles such as leadership and sociability.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

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Related Words

• ethereal
• unreal

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