Palpable

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈpalpÉ™bÉ™l/
• US enPR: păl'pÉ™-bÉ™l, IPA: /ˈpælpÉ™bÉ™l/

Origin

From Middle French palpable and its source, Latin palpābilis.

Full definition of palpable

Adjective

1. Capable of being touched, felt or handled; touchable, tangible.
• circa 1600 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 5, sc. 2:Osric: A hit, a very palpable hit.
• 1838, Edgar Allan Poe, "Ligeia":I had felt that some palpable although invisible object had passed lightly by my person.
• 1894, Bret Harte, "The Heir of the McHulishes" in A Protegee of Jack Hamlin's and Other Stories:The next morning the fog had given way to a palpable, horizontally driving rain.
2. Obvious or easily perceived; noticeable.
• 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 5, Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness,.... It was with a palpable relief that he heard the first warning notes of the figure.
• 1913, Sax Rohmer, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu ch. 24:Her voice, her palpable agitation, prepared us for something extraordinary.
• 1916, Kathleen Norris, The Heart of Rachael, ch. 7:No use in raging, in reasoning, in arguing. No use in setting forth the facts, the palpable right and wrong.
3. (medicine) That can be detected by palpation.

Synonyms

• (capable of being touched) tangible, touchable
• (obvious or easily perceived) manifest, noticeable, patent