impalpability
/ɪmpælpəˈbɪlɪtɪ/
impalpability means the quality of being impalpable; intangibility.; Physical imperceptibility; incapability of being sensed by the tactual faculties. It carries an Arena rating of 1500, earned across 89 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, impalpability ranks #229 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,024 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #2,937 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,976 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
impalpability is pronounced /ɪmpælpəˈbɪlɪtɪ/.
Why “impalpability” is a great word
IMPALPABILITY — [Noun] The quality of being incapable of being perceived by touch or of being readily grasped by the mind. From English impalpable (from im- "not" + palpable "capable of being touched or felt") + the noun-forming suffix -ity; compare French impalpabilité. Unlike intangibility, which often focuses on a lack of physical substance, or abstraction, which denotes a concept removed from reality, impalpability describes an inherent elusiveness that thwarts both sense and sense-making. It is the just-vanished chill of a ghost in a sunlit room, the exact contour of a fading dream upon waking, and the weight of a silence so complete it becomes a presence—the profound defeat of attempting to clutch at what is definitively present, yet fundamentally unholdable.
Etymology
Formed as impalpable + -ity; compare the French impalpabilité.
noun
- The quality of being impalpable; intangibility.; Physical imperceptibility; incapability of being sensed by the tactual faculties.
- The quality of being impalpable; intangibility.; Ungraspability by or inapprehensibility to the mind.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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