intangible
/ɪnˈtan(d)ʒɪb(ə)l
/adjective
1Unable to be touched; not having physical presence: the moonlight made things seem intangible...
- The minute you walk in, you feel an intangible presence.
- And, monetary gifts aren't enough, but intangible power, presence, and influence as well.
- It stands to reason then that intangible means not tangible, unable to touch, or impalpable.
Synonyms
impalpable, untouchable, imperceptible to the touch, non-physical, bodiless, incorporeal, unembodied, disembodied, abstract, invisible;
ethereal, insubstantial, airy, aerial;
spiritual, ghostly, spectral, phantom, wraithlike, transcendental, unearthly, supernatural
rare immaterial, unbodied, discarnate, disincarnate, phantasmal, phantasmic
1.1Difficult or impossible to define or understand; vague and abstract: the rose symbolized something intangible about their relationship...
- Don't they sound just a little bit vague, intangible, or unclear?
- With the new relationships, however, some of the favorable effects are intangible and more difficult to quantify and critique.
- Clients are quick to discuss designs' more abstract and intangible qualities.
Synonyms
indefinable, indescribable, inexpressible, nameless;
vague, obscure, unclear, hazy, dim, mysterious;
indefinite, unanalysable, subtle, elusive, fugitive
1.2(Of an asset or benefit) not constituting or represented by a physical object and of a value not precisely measurable: intangible business property like patents...
- But, on average, intangible assets now represent about 80 percent of the market value of public companies.
- Physical as opposed to intangible assets in businesses in advanced economies such as Ireland's are reducing in importance.
- A company's book value is its net asset value minus its intangible assets, current liabilities, long-term debt and equity issues.
noun (usually intangibles)
An intangible thing: intangibles like self-confidence and responsibility...
- While we may work on intangibles such as pride of the people, pride of being self-determined, we've always asked the question, what's it for?
- What about those intangibles that could make us all so much happier: income security and increased leisure?
- There are still some intangibles that I can't quite wrap my mind around.
Derivatives
intangibility
/ noun ...- One of the few hard facts about brands is their intangibility.
- While exploiting the materiality of the mirror, Sexton's writing's primary interest is in the compelling intangibility of the reflection.
- In addition, accomplishments are difficult to detect because of their inherent intangibility and measurement difficulty.
intangibly
- I think the hope is that perhaps intangibly it will bring the two countries closer together in a business sense and we'll get benefits from that.
- Knowledge exists intangibly until it is understood, and then knowledge pours forth like a Fountain.
Origin
Early 17th century (as an adjective): from French, or from medieval Latin intangibilis, from in- 'not' + late Latin tangibilis (see tangible).