palpable
44
6.1
- adjective
- /ˈpæl.pə.bəl/
- In the house, Ellen's absence was palpable; it followed him from room to room.
- palpable tension
- a palpable sense
- palpable sense of excitement
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Watch on YouTubeIs that deep pit in my stomach a palpable sense of dread about the future?
- Is that deep pit in my stomach a palpable sense of dread about the future?
- He did not seem afraid of his superior, despite Garland's palpable wrath.
- The confidence of those young girls at the table was palpable.
- I mean, the level of disillusionment out there is palpable.
- And so the irony is all the more, you know, palpable.
- He married someone else, someone who smiled a lot, whose scorn was palpable.
- And the pain in her voice when she was talking about this for making this choice was palpable.
- And then, for the first time, the depths of the dread purpose that moved these men became palpable.
- But somehow the like, the palpable love that she could feel changed her whole idea of love.
Examples
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The tension in the room was so strong that it felt palpable.
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So there's a real and palpable aura of danger around failure.
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I think there is a palpable sensation that the system is coming apart.
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But, like, there is a palpable tension in this room.
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The excitement is palpable here.
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there was a palpable expectation in the room.
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The excitement in the air is palpable.
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This romantic tension is so palpable.
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The anxiety was palpable when they arrived this morning as the skating community continued to voice its outrage.
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There was a palpable sense of excitement as the concert was about to begin.
Synonyms
335
1.0
Easy to see or understand
227
2.8
Easy to see or understand
186
2.1
Easy to see or understand
98
4.6
Real and able to be touched or clearly felt
40
3.9
Very clear and easy to recognize
21
4.2
Easy to see or notice, often showing a feeling
3
4.1
Easy to see or understand
1
4.4
Possible to notice by touch, like roughness or warmth
Antonyms
Compounds
How Palpable
Surface Forms
Morphology
palpable = palpate (semi-transparent) = palp + able
The adjective is built from the touch-related root 'palp' + '-able', but the common use is figurative ('almost touchable' = very noticeable) and the root is not a familiar standalone English word, so learners may only partially infer the meaning.
Etymology
The word palpable comes from an old Latin word palpare meaning 'to touch' or 'to feel'. So a 'palpable' feeling or atmosphere is one so strong it seems almost touchable or very easy to notice.