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Glite Dictionary
nonpalpable

nonpalpable

8.1
A thing you cannot feel when you touch it during a medical exam
  • adjective
  • /nɒnˈpælpəbl/
  • Specialized
: no palpable
  • The doctor was unable to feel the nonpalpable tumor during the examination.

Examples

  • The indications for biopsy included nonpalpable masses seen on earlier cross-sectional imaging and palpable masses in which imaging localization was felt to be critical for biopsy.

    Academic text (1999)

  • As technology continues to improve, sonographic guidance is becoming common for FNAB of small, nonpalpable lesions, particularly in metastases from head and neck malignancies or thyroid nodules.

    Academic text (1999)

  • During the check-up, the physician noted that the nonpalpable lymph nodes were not a cause for concern.

  • The ultrasound revealed several nonpalpable masses that needed further evaluation.

Synonyms

impalpable
vsnonpalpable
1 9.3

Hard to feel or notice with your senses

is specific to touch in medical examinations rather than to all senses

Antonyms

palpable
  • Specialized
3 6.8

Able to be felt by touch during a medical exam

How Palpable

palpable
  • Specialized
3 6.8
nonpalpable
  • Specialized
8.1

Surface Forms

nonpalpable positive

Morphology

nonpalpable = palpable (transparent) = non + palpable

A straightforward negation formed by adding the productive prefix 'non-' to the adjective 'palpable', so the meaning is directly predictable.

Etymology

Nonpalpable breaks into non- 'not' and palpable, from a root that means 'to feel'. The same root is in palpate, which means 'to feel with the hands', so a nonpalpable mass is one you 'cannot feel' by touch and must be found in other ways.