palpable
adjective
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Feel Out the Definition of Palpable
If you find it fascinating how English speakers push words with concrete meanings into figurative use, we feel you. By which we mean we understand you, of course, not that we are patting your head or poking you in the shoulder. Palpable, which has since the 14th century described things that can be literally felt through the skin (such as a person’s pulse), has undergone an expansion similar to that of feel over the centuries, and is now more frequently used to describe things that cannot be touched but are still so easy to perceive that it is as though they could be—such as "a palpable tension in the air."
Examples of palpable in a Sentence
Simon Kallal et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 7 Feb. 2008
There's a palpable feeling of community here: owner Lee McLemore stocks the store with a surprisingly large wine selection, police chief Andy Williams moonlights in the prepared-foods section and barbecues in the parking lot, and George Watkins personally fills the shelves with his superb tupelo honey.
—Todd Coleman, Saveur, October 2006
When I'm back in nature after months of walking around on concrete and living in boxes, I feel a palpable internal shift.
—Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, 2006
I felt a palpable sense of relief.
The attraction between them was palpable.
There was a palpable excitement in the air as the town prepared for the festival.
Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
There is a palpable sense of surrender in the air.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The excitement outside of New York’s Beacon Theatre was palpable on Thursday night.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
On Buenos Aires streets, anger is palpable.
—NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for palpable
Cite this Entry
“Palpable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palpable. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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palpable
adjective
Medical Definition
palpable
adjective
The Journal of the American Medical Association 
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