Standard Lemma guide

tangible

adj · noun · 10 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtæn.d͡ʒɪ.b(ə)l/
  • General-American: /ˈtæn.d͡ʒə.bəl/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ændʒɪbəl
  • CMU ARPABET: T AE1 N JH AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Touchable; able to be touched or felt; perceptible by the sense of touch.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: palpable, tactile, tangible, touchable

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Perceptible; able to be perceived.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: conspicuous, detectable, discernable, noticeable, observable, perceivable, perceptible, sensable, sensible

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Able to be treated as fact; real or concrete.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: actual, bodily, choical, corporeal, concrete, hylic, hylical, material, meaty, physical, real, substantive, tangible

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Comprehensible by the mind; understandable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: apprehensible, clear, limpid, comprehensible, explainable, explicable, explicatable, fathomable, graspable, illuminable, intelligible, lucid, pellucid, perspicuous, straightforward, tangible, understandable

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A physical object; something that can be touched.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Real or concrete results.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Yes, but what are the tangibles?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective

Meaning 7

capable of being perceived; especially capable of being handled or touched or felt

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a barely palpable dust
  • felt sudden anger in a palpable wave
  • the air was warm and close--palpable as cotton
  • a palpable lie

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: palpable

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective

Meaning 8

perceptible by the senses especially the sense of touch

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • skin with a tangible roughness

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: touchable

Antonyms: intangible

9

adjective

Meaning 9

(of especially business assets) having physical substance and intrinsic monetary value

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • tangible property like real estate
  • tangible assets such as machinery

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: intangible

10

adjective satellite

Meaning 10

capable of being treated as fact

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • tangible evidence
  • his brief time as Prime Minister brought few real benefits to the poor

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: real

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French tangible, from Late Latin tangibilis, from Latin tangere (“to touch”)

Across languages

Translations

101 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: tasbaar — touchable, palpable
  • Arabic: مَلْمُوْس (malmūs) — touchable, palpable
  • Bulgarian: осезаем (osezaem) — touchable, palpable
  • Catalan: tangible — touchable, palpable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 可觸摸的 /可触摸的 — touchable, palpable
  • Czech: hmatatelný — touchable, palpable
  • Danish: materiel — touchable, palpable
  • Dutch: tastbaar — touchable, palpable
  • Esperanto: palpebla — touchable, palpable
  • Finnish: kouriintuntuva — touchable, palpable
  • Finnish: käsin kosketeltava — touchable, palpable
  • French: tangible — touchable, palpable
  • French: palpable — touchable, palpable
  • Galician: tanxible — touchable, palpable
  • Galician: tanxíbel — touchable, palpable
  • German: greifbar — touchable, palpable
  • German: erfühlbar — touchable, palpable
  • Greek: απτός (aptós) — touchable, palpable
  • Greek: αισθητός (aisthitós) — touchable, palpable
  • Greek: χειροπιαστός (cheiropiastós) — touchable, palpable
  • Hebrew: מוחשי (muchashi) — touchable, palpable
  • Hungarian: tapintható — touchable, palpable
  • Hungarian: anyagi — touchable, palpable
  • Hungarian: materiális — touchable, palpable
  • Hungarian: tárgyi — touchable, palpable
  • Hungarian: érzékelhető — touchable, palpable
  • Italian: tangibile — touchable, palpable
  • Italian: palpabile — touchable, palpable
  • Kazakh: сезілетін (sezıletın) — touchable, palpable
  • Kazakh: сезінерлік (sezınerlık) — touchable, palpable
  • Kazakh: елеулі (eleulı) — touchable, palpable
  • Latin: tactilis — touchable, palpable
  • Māori: whaikiko — touchable, palpable
  • Māori: ōkiko — touchable, palpable
  • Norwegian: følbar — touchable, palpable
  • Norwegian Bokmål: materiell — touchable, palpable
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: materiell — touchable, palpable
  • Old English: grāpiendlīċ — touchable, palpable
  • Persian: ملموس (malmus) — touchable, palpable
  • Polish: namacalny — touchable, palpable
  • Polish: dotykalny — touchable, palpable
  • Portuguese: tangível — touchable, palpable
  • Romanian: tangibil — touchable, palpable
  • Romanian: palpabil — touchable, palpable
  • Russian: осяза́емый (osjazájemyj) — touchable, palpable
  • Russian: ощути́мый (oščutímyj) — touchable, palpable
  • Spanish: tangible — touchable, palpable
  • Spanish: palpable — touchable, palpable
  • Swedish: påtaglig — touchable, palpable
  • Swedish: handgriplig — touchable, palpable
  • Afrikaans: konkreet — possible to be treated as fact
  • Bulgarian: конкретен (konkreten) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Bulgarian: веществен (veštestven) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Chinese Mandarin: 切實的 /切实的 — possible to be treated as fact
  • Czech: skutečný — possible to be treated as fact
  • Danish: håndgribelig — possible to be treated as fact
  • Danish: konkret — possible to be treated as fact
  • Dutch: concreet — possible to be treated as fact
  • Finnish: kouriintuntuva — possible to be treated as fact
  • Finnish: todellinen — possible to be treated as fact
  • Finnish: aineellinen — possible to be treated as fact
  • Galician: tanxíbel — possible to be treated as fact
  • German: konkret — possible to be treated as fact
  • Greek: ενυπόστατος (enypóstatos) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Hungarian: kézzelfogható — possible to be treated as fact
  • Hungarian: tárgyi — possible to be treated as fact
  • Hungarian: materiális — possible to be treated as fact
  • Italian: tangibile — possible to be treated as fact
  • Kazakh: ауыз толтырып айтарлық (auyz toltyryp aitarlyq) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Kazakh: тыңғылықты (tyñğylyqty) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Kazakh: тиянақты (tiänaqty) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Kazakh: табанды (tabandy) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Norwegian: håndgripelig — possible to be treated as fact
  • Norwegian: konkret — possible to be treated as fact
  • Polish: konkretny — possible to be treated as fact
  • Portuguese: tangível — possible to be treated as fact
  • Russian: реа́льный (reálʹnyj) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Russian: конкре́тный (konkrétnyj) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Russian: осяза́емый (osjazájemyj) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Russian: ощути́мый (oščutímyj) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Russian: заме́тный (zamétnyj) — possible to be treated as fact
  • Afrikaans: verstaanbaar — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Bulgarian: разбираем (razbiraem) — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 明確的 /明确的 — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Czech: pochopitelný — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Czech: uchopitelný — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Dutch: begrijpelijk — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Finnish: ymmärrettävä — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Galician: entendíbel — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • German: erfassbar — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • German: fassbar — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • German: begreifbar — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Greek: αντιληπτός (antiliptós) — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Hungarian: érthető — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Hungarian: felfogható — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Italian: tangibile — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Norwegian: begripelig — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Norwegian: forståelig — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Norwegian: fattbar — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Polish: zrozumiały — comprehensible by the mind; understandable
  • Russian: поня́тный (ponjátnyj) — comprehensible by the mind; understandable