palpable

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The literal meaning, 'that can be touched or felt', is encountered in medical contexts (a palpable swelling), and is familiar from Shakespeare's line in the duel scene at the end of Hamlet: A hit, a very palpable hit. The figurative use, conveying the idea of something so strongly present to the mind or senses that it can almost be physically felt, is the dominant one nowadays:

The tension—friendly tension—in the room was palpable—Atlantic, 1991.

Because palpable has a strong literary tone and can sound affected or pretentious, in everyday language alternatives such as clear, glaring, and obvious are often better choices.

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adjective

1. Discernible by touch: tactile, tangible, touchable. See touch/not touch.
2. Capable of being noticed or apprehended mentally: appreciable, detectable, discernible, distinguishable, noticeable, observable, perceivable, perceptible, ponderable, sensible. See knowledge/ignorance.

adj

Definition: clear, obvious
Antonyms: hidden, obscure, unclear, vague

adj

Definition: concrete, real
Antonyms: abstract, doubtful, dubious, inferential, intangible, questionable, unreal

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Easily perceptible, plain, obvious, readily visible, noticeable, patent, distinct, manifest.

The term palpable usually refers to some type of egregious wrong, such as a governmental error or abuse of power.

IN BRIEF: Perceptible by feeling or touch.

Her ice cold hands were palpable through the layers of clothing.

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Perceptible by touch.

  See crossword solutions for the clue Palpable.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - håndgribelig, gennemskuelig

Nederlands (Dutch)
tastbaar, opvallend

Français (French)
adj. - palpable, manifeste

Deutsch (German)
adj. - fühlbar, tastbar, offenkundig

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - απτός, χειροπιαστός

Italiano (Italian)
tangibile, palpabile, chiaro, evidente, manifesto, concreto

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - palpável, evidente

Русский (Russian)
ощутимый, явный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - palpable, patente, evidente

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - påtaglig, kännbar

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
可触知的, 明显的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 可觸知的, 明顯的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 손으로 만질 수 있는, 매우 뚜렷한, 곧 알 수 있는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 明白な, 簡単にわかる, 触診できる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) محسوس, , ملموس,‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮ניתן למישוש, לתחושה או להבחנה‬

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