Standard Lemma guide

imperturbable

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɪmpəˈtɜːbəbl̩/
  • General-American: /ˌɪmpəɹˈtɜɹbəb(ə)l/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed, excited, or upset; calm and collected, even under pressure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cool-headed, unexcitable, unperturbable, calm, steady, collected, composed, equable, equanimous, equanimitable, even-keeled, even-minded, even-tempered, imperturbable, laid-back, level-headed, mellow, pacate, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, phlegmatic, placid, quiescent, quiet, relaxed, roolie, sedate, serene, still, tranquil, unexcited, unfazed, unflappable, unflustered, unruffable, unruffled, untumultuous, abstemious, continent, cool, dispassionate, inexcitable, regular, sober, staid, temperate, undisturbed, unimpassioned, unpassionate, unperturbed, unstirred, unsusceptible

Antonyms: perturbable, atrabilious, bad-tempered, bilious, bitchy, brainish, cantankerous, carnaptious, choleric, crabbit, crabby, cranky, crotchety, dyspeptic, edgy, fantoddish, fiery, fractious, fretful, grumpy, grotchy, grouchy, hissy, hot-livered, hot-tempered, hotheaded, huffy, humpy, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, liverish, out of sorts, ornery (chiefly US)}, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, quick-tempered, querulous, raspy, ratty, short-tempered, snappish, snappy, snippety, snippish, snippy, snitchy, splenetic, stressy, surly, temperamental, testy, tetchy, tetty, thin-skinned, thorny, touchy, twitchy, umbrageous, volatile, waspish, angstful, apprehensive, anxious, careful, concerned, distraught, disturbed, fraught, freaked out, hagridden, high-strung, jittery, jumpy, leery, nervous, nervy, on edge, restless, skittish, spookish, squeamish, tied in knots, uneasy, unquiet, verklempt, worried, worrisome, worryful

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

not easily perturbed or excited or upset; marked by extreme calm and composure

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • hitherto imperturbable, he now showed signs of alarm
  • an imperturbable self-possession
  • unflappable in a crisis

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unflappable

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

PIE word *né From Late Middle English imperturbable (“undisturbed; impossible to disturb”), borrowed from Late Latin imperturbābilis, from Latin im- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + Late Latin perturbabilis (“perturbable”) (from Latin perturbō (“to confuse; to alarm, disturb, trouble, perturb”) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives denoting a capacity or worth of being acted upon)). Perturbō is derived from per- (intensifying prefix) + turbō (“to agitate, disturb, unsettle, perturb; to upset”) (from turba (“disorder, disturbance, turmoil”) (possibly from Ancient Greek τῠ́ρβη (tŭ́rbē, “confusion, disorder, tumult”), either from Pre-Greek, or Proto-Indo-European *(s)twerH- (“to agitate, stir up; to urge on, propel”)) + -ō (suffix forming infinitives of regular first-conjugation verbs)). By surface analysis, im- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + perturbable.

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: невъзмутим (nevǎzmutim) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Catalan: impertorbable — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Dutch: bedaard — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Dutch: ijzerenheinig — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Dutch: onverstoorbaar — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Dutch: ongenaakbaar — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Finnish: järkähtämätön — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Finnish: järkkymätön — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Finnish: rauhallinen — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Finnish: tyyni — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • French: imperturbable — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Galician: imperturbable — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Galician: imperturbábel — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Georgian: აუმღვრეველი (aumɣvreveli) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • German: unbeirrt — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • German: unerschütterlich — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Greek: αθορύβητος (athorývitos) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Hungarian: rendíthetetlen — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Indonesian: tenang — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Irish: fuarchúiseach — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Italian: imperturbabile — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Italian: impassibile — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Italian: olimpico — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Latin: imperturbābilis — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Macedonian: невозбуден (nevozbuden) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Māori: taumauri — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Occitan: imperturbable — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Pali: āneñja — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Polish: niewzruszony — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Portuguese: imperturbável — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Romanian: imperturbabil — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Russian: непоколеби́мый (nepokolebímyj) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Russian: непроница́емый (nepronicájemyj) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Russian: невозмутимый (nevozmutimyj) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Sanskrit: अक्षोभ्य (akṣobhya) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Spanish: imperturbable — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Ukrainian: незвору́шний (nezvorúšnyj) — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed
  • Vietnamese: bình thản — not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed