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tangible

[tan-juh-buh l]
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adjective
  1. capable of being touched; discernible by the touch; material or substantial.
  2. real or actual, rather than imaginary or visionary: the tangible benefits of sunshine.
  3. definite; not vague or elusive: no tangible grounds for suspicion.
  4. (of an asset) having actual physical existence, as real estate or chattels, and therefore capable of being assigned a value in monetary terms.
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noun
  1. something tangible, especially a tangible asset.
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Origin of tangible

1580–90; < Late Latin tangibilis, equivalent to Latin tang(ere) to touch + -ibilis -ible
Related formstan·gi·bil·i·ty, tan·gi·ble·ness, nountan·gi·bly, adverbnon·tan·gi·ble, adjectivenon·tan·gi·ble·ness, nounnon·tan·gi·bly, adverbpre·tan·gi·ble, adjectivepre·tan·gi·bly, adverbqua·si-tan·gi·ble, adjectivequa·si-tan·gi·bly, adverbun·tan·gi·ble, adjective

Synonyms

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1. palpable, corporeal. 2. certain, genuine, perceptible. 3. specific.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tangibility

Historical Examples

  • In them the persons of the gods had neither consistence nor tangibility.

    A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)

    Georges Perrot

  • She laid hands on Hilda's previous references as a tangibility that remained with her.

    Hilda

    Sarah Jeanette Duncan

  • Her imagination was making desperate efforts to reproduce the scene with the tangibility of life.

  • The difference between the two is that of tangibility or visibility, but nothing more.

    The Japanese Spirit

    Yoshisaburo Okakura

  • He had not yet seen his bride that morning, and so her face was shadowy compared with the tangibility of those machines.

British Dictionary definitions for tangibility

tangible

adjective
  1. capable of being touched or felt; having real substancea tangible object
  2. capable of being clearly grasped by the mind; substantial rather than imaginarytangible evidence
  3. having a physical existence; corporealtangible assets
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noun
  1. (often plural) a tangible thing or asset
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Derived Formstangibility or tangibleness, nountangibly, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Late Latin tangibilis, from Latin tangere to touch
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

Word Origin and History for tangibility

tangible

adj.

1580s, "capable of being touched," from Middle French tangible, from Late Latin tangibilis "that may be touched," from Latin tangere "to touch" (see tangent). Sense of "material" (e.g. tangible reward) is first recorded 1610s; that of "able to be realized or dealt with" is from 1709.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper