Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

tangible

[tan-juh-buhl]
See more synonyms for tangible on Thesaurus.com
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.
Show More
noun
  1. something tangible, especially a tangible asset.
Show More

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

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

Related Words

substantiallyphysicallypalpablyostensiblyprobablysupposedlyallegedlypossiblyactuallybodilyobjectivelyreallycorporeallymundanelysensiblytangiblyevidentlyexternallyoutwardlyreasonably

Examples from the Web for tangibly

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The image of the pale girl rose before him, tangibly distinct.

  • I had been tangibly smitten; I longed to be tangibly healed.

    Richard Vandermarck

    Miriam Coles Harris

  • Through the feeling of doom that filled the room as tangibly as a scent I stretched out to the thought of Chris.

  • An expert accomplishes his deceit without anything so grossly and tangibly honest as a lie; and Louis was an expert.

  • The air was charged with something that all felt too tangibly oppressive, yet none could define, save the two—who would not.

    One Day

    Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for tangibly

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
Show More
noun
  1. (often plural) a tangible thing or asset
Show More
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 tangibly

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.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper