impalpability

im·pal·pa·ble

(ĭm-păl′pə-bəl)

adj.

1. Not perceptible to the touch; intangible.

2. Difficult to perceive or grasp by the mind.

im·pal′pa·bil′i·ty n.

im·pal′pa·bly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

impalpability - the quality of being intangible and not perceptible by touch

intangibility, intangibleness

incorporeality, immateriality - the quality of not being physical; not consisting of matter

palpability, tangibility, tangibleness - the quality of being perceivable by touch

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References in classic literature ?

Troubles and other realities took on themselves a meta-physical impalpability, sinking to mere mental phenomena for serene contemplation, and no longer stood as pressing concretions which chafed body and soul.

View in context

And so etrange in this context is generally rendered as "uncanny," both of which are standard for the German unheimlich--literally, "unhomely." These words, each with their own origins and baggage, triangulate a concept that derives its lasting power from its very impalpability, but it is to translation that we owe their collusive proximity.

Unhomed: TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

In the days that followed, the incident receded from his consciousness, acquired the impalpability of a dream.

PROTECTING

The impalpability in her life not only belonged to her imagination but also to her desires.

Tween Vows

Presence means existence at the level of the unnamable, and the line "everything I could not touch was light" undergoes subtle changes in meaning according to where the emphasis is put: "I could not touch" would mean "the 'I' could not touch"; "I could not touch" would probably mean "unable to touch" as well as "beyond touch"; and finally, "I could not touch"--most likely the intended meaning--emphasizes the impalpability of light.