palpable meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

palpable

adj

UK /ˈpælpəbəl/ · US /ˈpælpəbəl/

Etymology From Middle French palpable and its source, Latin palpābilis, which is from palpō (“to touch softly”) + -bilis.

Capable of being touched, felt or handled; touchable, tangible.

Osric: A hit, a very palpable hit.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
The imagination shuns to reveal its workings, unless it can clothe them in some lovely and palpable shape, and create into existence the high romance, the mournful song, the animated canvass, or the carved marble;...1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 227:

4 more examples

I had felt that some palpable although invisible object had passed lightly by my person.1838, Edgar Allan Poe, Ligeia:
The next morning the fog had given way to a palpable, horizontally driving rain.1894, Bret Harte, “The Heir of the McHulishes”, in A Protegee of Jack Hamlin's and Other Stories:
[T]he gondolas stole in and out of the opaque distance more noiselessly and dreamily than ever; and a silence, almost palpable, lay upon the mutest city in the world.1906, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], quoting William Dean Howells, “William Dean Howells”, in What Is Man? And Other Essays, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, published May 1917, page 234:
The force of her horror must have been palpable in the air, because Jorge's eyes opened as she raised the bayonet up. "Fina?"2023 October 12, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 22 May 2024:

Figuratively Obvious or easily perceived; noticeable.

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.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
Her voice, her palpable agitation, prepared us for something extraordinary.1913, Sax Rohmer, chapter 24, in The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu:

4 more examples

No use in raging, in reasoning, in arguing. No use in setting forth the facts, the palpable right and wrong.1916, Kathleen Norris, chapter 7, in The Heart of Rachael:
Suppose we ignore the two palpable suspects—yourself and the attendant. Now who else might it have been?1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries:
By Thursday, there was a palpable sense of frustration with the opposition’s strategy on the streets of Caracas, people in the capital said.2019 May 2, Ana Vanessa Herrero, Rick Gladstone, “Maduro Speaks to Troops, Trying to Discredit Guaidó’s Call for Mutiny”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Elena Remigi, of the In Limbo Project, which is documenting the experiences of EU citizens in the UK, said: “The anxiety among EU citizens is palpable. My inbox is full of messages of people asking for reassurance or guidance.[…]”2021 June 28, Lisa O'Carroll, Amelia Gentleman, quoting Elena Remigi, “‘The anxiety is palpable’: EU citizens face looming settled status deadline”, in The Guardian:

Medicine, Sciences That can be detected by palpation.