impalpable

[ im-pal-puh-buh l ]

/ ɪmˈpæl pə bəl /

not palpable; incapable of being perceived by the sense of touch; intangible.

difficult for the mind to grasp readily or easily: impalpable distinctions.

(of powder) so fine that when rubbed between the fingers no grit is felt.

Origin of impalpable

First recorded in 1500–10; im-² + palpable

im·pal·pa·bil·i·ty, noun im·pal·pa·bly, adverb

Only the originals have a true, if impalpable, connection to that man and that moment of making.

Ad Reinhardt, No Saint, Made Relics of Himself |Blake Gopnik |December 4, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
It is impossible to make marble imitate that which is impalpable.

The Greville Memoirs |Charles C. F. Greville
I tried to brush them away, but they were so impalpable that the movement of my hand did not disturb them at all.

Combed Out |Fritz August Voigt
So light was her step that the living, moving body seemed to be as impalpable as its spirit image.

The Late Tenant |Louis Tracy

The opposition had, to all appearance, dissolved into impalpable matter.

A Handbook of the Boer War |Gale and Polden, Limited
At every step his foot sank in, and a fine cloud of impalpable ashes flew up into his face; and it was dark.

The Story of an African Farm |(AKA Ralph Iron) Olive Schreiner

impalpable

/ (ɪmˈpælpəbəl) /

imperceptible, esp to the touch impalpable shadows

difficult to understand; abstruse

impalpability, noun impalpably, adverb