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palpable
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pal·pa·ble

palpable

 
 
pronunciation:
pael p bl
features:
Word Parts
part of speech: adjective
definition 1: easy to sense or perceive; obvious.
The applicant's nervousness was palpable although she attempted to appear calm.This palpable lie did nothing to aid the young man's defense.
synonyms:
clear-cut, conspicuous, overt, patent
antonyms:
impalpable
similar words:
apparent, blatant, clear, distinct, evident, manifest, noticeable, obvious, outright, perceptible, plain, tangible, unmistakable, visible
definition 2: able to be touched, felt, or handled.
There was a palpable change in temperature that afternoon.
synonyms:
perceptible, tangible
antonyms:
impalpable
similar words:
appreciable, concrete, evident, material, noticeable, objective, perceivable, perceptible, physical, solid, tactile
derivations: palpably (adv.), palpability (n.), palpableness (n.)
Word Parts  About this feature
The word palpable contains the following parts:
palp Latin root that means touch
-able, -ible, -ble Latin adjective-forming suffix that means capable of being, doing, or undergoing
Show wordsHide wordsMore about this word part:
The suffix -able , and its variants, is attached to Latin verb roots or English transitive verbs to form adjectives. (In a small set of cases, -able is attached to a noun, e.g. knowledgeable and marriageable.) For spelling purposes, it is useful to know that -able is more likely to be added to a whole English word (comparable, adorable ), while -ible is more likely to follow a bound root (visible , legible ). However,there are still many words which combine a root with -able (capable , inevitable ). The suffix -ity can be added to any adjective ending in -able , -ible , -ble to produce a corresponding noun ending in -ability, -ibility, -bility (possible + -ity > possibility; irrevocable + -ity > irrevocability.)