A shoutout to the author Barthe DeClements, whose book Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade taught me the word tangible:

     "I only want to give Elsie a little tangible thanks for her kindness."

     When Mother hung up, I asked, "What's tangible?"

     "Something you can touch. Like money."

Don't you love it when a story glosses a word for you? Especially in such a quick, straightforward way.

So, as the narrator's mom already taught us, something tangible has physical form: you could reach out and poke it, like the two quarters that she'll give her daughter's friend Elsie for tutoring her daughter in math.

Very similarly, something pal___le is so clear and so obvious that it's as if you could touch it.

Also very similarly, something man____t is very easy to see, or very easy to understand, as if you could reach out and grab it with your hand.

Could you recall those synonyms?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

"Tangible" has Latin bits that literally mean "able to be touched."

That's how we most often use it in English. Tangible things are real, meaning they have substance and you can touch them. In other words, to be tangible is to be touchable.

In a figurative sense, when you say that something is tangible, or nearly tangible, or practically tangible—usually some feeling, like anger or relief—you might mean it's so strong or so intense that it's as if you could touch it (even though you can't, because it's not an object).

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "a tangible reward," "Their excitement is practically tangible."

Other forms: 

The adverb is "tangibly."

The noun is kind of ugly: "tangibleness."

The precise opposite of "tangible" is "intangible," meaning "untouchable: not real, not having a physical form that you could touch."

how to use it:

"Tangible" is a common word with a formal, positive tone.

You might talk about tangible proof and evidence, tangible differences and improvements, tangible rewards or returns on investments, and tangible feelings (like tangible joy or relief).

You might also talk about the tangible benefits of your job, like your salary, as well as the intangible benefits, like the happiness and satisfaction you derive from your work.

examples:

"With my senses of smell and taste knocked out [by COVID], the comforts that would normally have sustained me through an intense illness were profoundly blunted. And I was miserable. Now, months later, I appreciate the aromas and flavors and all the other tangible joys of my world differently, just for experiencing their loss even for a little while."
   — Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon, 4 May 2023

"The two men looked at each other and the hostility in their eyes was all but tangible."
   — Isaac Asimov, I, Robot, 1950

has this page helped you understand "tangible"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "tangible" without saying "concrete" or "touchable."

try it out:

Check this out, from Roald Dahl's Matilda:

"Miss Jennifer Honey... possessed that rare gift for being adored by every small child under her care... Some curious warmth that was almost tangible shone out of Miss Honey's face when she spoke to a confused and homesick newcomer to the class."

What does it mean that the warmth in this teacher's face is "almost tangible"? Do you know anyone in real life who also seems to exude a tangible warmth?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for June is "Happy Stories in Hidden Cities."

I'll give you a sentence from a happy news story, along with a long word that contains all the letters, in order, of the name of the city in which the story takes place. And you give me the city.

Here's an example:

"A puppy was excited to experience his first-ever snowfall on Friday, November 11, after a winter storm swept through the area." FARRAGO.

The answer here is "Fargo," the city where this story takes place. You can spot the name FARGO inside FARRAGO.

Try this one today:

"Instead of issuing tickets for broken headlights, police are handing out gift cards to get them fixed." DEFENSIVE DRIVING.  

To see the answer, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. The precise opposite of TANGIBLE is INTANGIBLE. But a pretty close opposite of TANGIBLE is

A. ABSTRACT.
B. FEASIBLE.
C. PERPLEXING.

2. In Atonement, Ian McEwan describes a childhood as tangible as _____.

A. the silk hem of a dress
B. the soft sound of a harp
C. the silver glow of the moon

Answers to the review questions: 1. A 2. A Answer to the game question: This story takes place in Denver, whose name you can spot inside DEFENSIVE DRIVING.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.