imperceptible
9
7.8
- adjective
- /ˌɪmpərˈsɛptəbl/
:
imperceptible
- Al gave me an almost imperceptible nod and kept on moving along the picket line.
- almost imperceptible
- nearly imperceptible
- imperceptible movement
There are a lot of little imperceptible layers that have to be let go.
- There are a lot of little imperceptible layers that have to be let go.
- In retrospect, it happened so slowly, almost imperceptible, while so many of us were asleep.
- This table feels solid, but it is molecules that are spinning and moving in imperceptible ways.
- It is a plant of slow growth, growing imperceptible.
- And I mean, then questions arise that start imperceptible but inevitably to slip beyond the realm of engineering.
- Just even the intelligence of organisms is imperceptible to us because we're too dumb and self-centered that words we're looking for a particular kind of thing.
Examples
-
At rest, their shallow breathing was almost imperceptible, and casual observers sometimes thought they were dead.
Academic text (1995) -
The problem is that there's this kind of slow, imperceptible shift from Wellness to illness.
-
The advance and retreat of the seas are imperceptible to anyone watching.
Fiction book (1999) -
It's almost imperceptible to the naked eye, but there's a jump there.
-
"In zero gravity, space travel was often characterized by silence and almost imperceptible changes in motion."
Fiction book (2000) -
But a closer inspection reveals an almost imperceptible diversity of expressions.
Academic text (2005) -
The shifting implications, according to the stacks supervisor, would be imperceptible and kept to a small area.
Academic text (2012) -
The pores on your skin have already opened up, secreting an imperceptible amount of pheromones into the air.
-
Human rights activism is a frustrating endeavor because its fruits are often imperceptible and interminably delayed.
Academic text (1994) -
The teacher's imperceptible changes in her tone made the students pay more attention.
Synonyms
276
6.0
Not easy to notice or understand because it is small
148
2.7
Not easy for other people to notice
66
3.2
Hidden so people do not notice it
23
6.5
Very hard or impossible to notice
4
8.8
Hard to see, hear, or notice
2
4.6
Hard to see or notice
1
8.0
Not able to be seen or noticed when you look
1
7.8
Hard to notice or understand at first
1
7.4
Not easy to see or understand without careful thinking
1
9.3
Hard to feel or notice with your senses
1
8.2
Other people do not notice someone or something
Too small to be seen, heard, or noticed
Too small, slow, or quiet for people to notice
So small that people do not notice it
Not possible for people to know or understand
Hard to see or notice
Antonyms
How Perceptible
Surface Forms
Morphology
imperceptible = perceptible (transparent) = im + percept + ible
Formed by the negative prefix 'im-' + 'perceptible' ('able to be perceived'), so the meaning 'not able to be perceived' follows directly.
Etymology
The word imperceptible begins with im- ('not') and the rest comes from the common verb perceive ('to notice' or 'to feel'). So imperceptible means 'not able to be noticed' or so small you cannot feel it.