tangible

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French tangible, from Late Latin tangibilis, from Latin tangere (“to touch”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtæn.d͡ʒɪ.b(ə)l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtæn.d͡ʒə.bəl/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tan‧gi‧ble
• Rhymes: -ændʒɪbəl

Adjective

tangible (comparative more tangible, superlative most tangible)

1. Touchable; able to be touched or felt; perceptible by the sense of touch.

   Synonyms: palpable; see also Thesaurus:tactile

2. Perceptible; able to be perceived.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:perceptible

   • 2019 January 7, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: Pattern Screamers” (0:11 from the start), in The Exploring Series‎, archived from the original on 11 January 2023:

     While the SCP universe is, of course, filled with things that we would certainly not consider "real", most of the SCPs are tangible or perceivable in some way.

3. Able to be treated as fact; real or concrete.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:substantial

   • 2021 May 15, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 0-1 Leicester”, in BBC Sport‎:

     And for Rodgers, who cleaned up with Celtic in Scotland, this was another significant addition to his CV, as his expert guidance of Leicester - who are in a strong position to finish in the Premier League's top four and face Chelsea again at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday - now has a tangible reward in the shape of the FA Cup.

   • 2024 September 26, Orianna Rosa Royle, Bosses are firing Gen Z grads just months after hiring them—here’s what they say needs to change‎:

     Leaders say they have struggled with the latest generation's tangible challenges, including being late to work and meetings often, not wearing office-appropriate clothing, and [not] using language appropriate for the workspace.

4. Comprehensible by the mind; understandable.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:comprehensible

Antonyms

• intangible

Derived terms

• tangible asset

Translations

touchable, palpable

Afrikaans: tasbaar Arabic: مَلْمُوْس (malmūs) Bulgarian: осезаем (bg) m (osezaem) Catalan: tangible (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 可觸摸的 / 可触摸的 Danish: materiel Dutch: tastbaar (nl) Esperanto: palpebla Finnish: kouriintuntuva (fi), käsin kosketeltava French: tangible (fr) m or f, palpable (fr) Galician: tanxible (gl), tanxíbel (gl) German: greifbar (de), erfühlbar Greek: απτός (el) (aptós), αισθητός (el) m (aisthitós), χειροπιαστός (el) m (cheiropiastós) Hebrew: מוחשי (he) m (muchashi) Hungarian: tapintható (hu), anyagi (hu), materiális (hu), tárgyi (hu), érzékelhető (hu) Italian: tangibile (it), palpabile (it) Kazakh: сезілетін (sezıletın), сезінерлік (sezınerlık), елеулі (eleulı) Latin: tactilis Maori: whaikiko, ōkiko Norwegian: følbar Bokmål: materiell Nynorsk: materiell Old English: grāpiendlīċ Persian: ملموس (fa) (malmus) Polish: namacalny (pl) m, dotykalny (pl) m Portuguese: tangível (pt) Romanian: tangibil (ro) m, palpabil (ro) m Russian: осяза́емый (ru) (osjazájemyj), ощути́мый (ru) (oščutímyj) Spanish: tangible (es), palpable (es) Swedish: påtaglig (sv), handgriplig (sv)

possible to be treated as fact

Afrikaans: konkreet Bulgarian: конкретен (bg) m (konkreten), веществен (bg) m (veštestven) Chinese: Mandarin: 切實的 / 切实的 Danish: håndgribelig, konkret (da) Dutch: concreet (nl) Finnish: kouriintuntuva (fi), todellinen (fi), aineellinen (fi) Galician: tanxíbel (gl) m or f German: konkret (de) Greek: ενυπόστατος (el) m (enypóstatos) Hungarian: kézzelfogható (hu), tárgyi (hu), materiális (hu) Italian: tangibile (it) Kazakh: ауыз толтырып айтарлық (auyz toltyryp aitarlyq), тыңғылықты (tyñğylyqty), тиянақты (tiänaqty), табанды (tabandy) Norwegian: håndgripelig, konkret (no) Polish: konkretny (pl) m Portuguese: tangível (pt) Russian: реа́льный (ru) (reálʹnyj), конкре́тный (ru) (konkrétnyj), осяза́емый (ru) (osjazájemyj), ощути́мый (ru) (oščutímyj), заме́тный (ru) (zamétnyj)

comprehensible by the mind; understandable

Afrikaans: verstaanbaar (af) Bulgarian: разбираем (bg) m (razbiraem) Chinese: Mandarin: 明確的 / 明确的 Dutch: begrijpelijk (nl) Finnish: ymmärrettävä (fi) Galician: entendíbel (gl) m or f German: erfassbar (de), fassbar (de), begreifbar (de) Greek: αντιληπτός (el) m (antiliptós) Hungarian: érthető (hu), felfogható (hu) Italian: tangibile (it) Norwegian: begripelig, forståelig (no), fattbar Polish: zrozumiały (pl) m Russian: поня́тный (ru) (ponjátnyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Ido: (please verify) tushebla (io)

Noun

tangible (plural tangibles)

1. A physical object; something that can be touched.
2. Real or concrete results.

   Yes, but what are the tangibles?

See also

• real
• palpable
• touch

Anagrams

• belating, bleating

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin tangibilis, from Latin tangō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [təɲˈʒib.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [taɲˈd͡ʒi.ble]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

tangible m or f (masculine and feminine plural tangibles)

1. tangible

   Antonym: intangible

Derived terms

• tangibilitat
• tangiblement

Further reading

• “tangible”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “tangible”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “tangible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “tangible” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin tangibilis, from Latin tangō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɑ̃.ʒibl/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Adjective

tangible (plural tangibles)

1. tangible

Derived terms

• tangiblement

Related terms

• intangible
• tangibilité

Further reading

• “tangible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin tangibilis, from Latin tangō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tanˈxible/ [t̪ãŋˈxi.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: tan‧gi‧ble

Adjective

tangible m or f (masculine and feminine plural tangibles)

1. tangible

   Antonym: intangible

Derived terms

• tangiblemente

Further reading

• “tangible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024