imperceptible

Borrowed from Middle French imperceptible, from Medieval Latin imperceptibilis, equivalent to im- +‎ perceptible.

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imperceptible (comparative more imperceptible, superlative most imperceptible)

1. not perceptible, not detectable, too small in magnitude to be observed

   Synonyms: imperceivable, undistinguishable, unperceivable

   Antonyms: detectable, perceptible

   We all missed the imperceptible shake of his head as he tried to warn us without being seen.

   • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Romance and Reality. , volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, , →OCLC, page 142:

     A narrow, almost imperceptible path led them through the thickest of the wood. Two or three times they had to creep under boughs which, but for the ease with which they gave way, would seem never to have admitted a passage before.

   • 1961 July, J. Geoffrey Todd, “Impressions of railroading in the United States: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 425:

     To my unpractised eye, the undulations in the track were quite imperceptible, but the engineer's hand on the throttle was never still.

   • 1986, Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, OUP Oxford, →ISBN, page 75:

     Very small benefits may be imperceptible. And it is plausible to claim that an 'imperceptible benefit' is not a benefit.

2. beyond the purview of man; too great and all-encompassing to be perceived.

   Synonym: cosmic

   Antonym: perceptible

Borrowed from Medieval Latin imperceptibilis, By surface analysis, im- +‎ perceptible.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencia)

imperceptible m or f (masculine and feminine plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible

   Antonym: perceptible

• imperceptiblement

• “imperceptible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “imperceptible”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “imperceptible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “imperceptible” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From the Medieval Latin imperceptibilis.

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pɛʁ.sɛp.tibl/

imperceptible (plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible

   Synonym: insensible

• imperceptiblement

• “imperceptible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Borrowed from Medieval Latin imperceptibilis. By surface analysis, im- +‎ perceptible.

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /impeɾθebˈtible/
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /impeɾsebˈtible/
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: im‧per‧cep‧ti‧ble

imperceptible m or f (masculine and feminine plural imperceptibles)

1. imperceptible

• “imperceptible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 23rd edition, Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 October 16