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impervious - 5 dictionary results

im⋅per⋅vi⋅ous

  [im-pur-vee-uhs]
Use impervious in a Sentence
–adjective
1. not permitting penetration or passage; impenetrable: The coat is impervious to rain.
2. incapable of being injured or impaired: impervious to wear and tear.
3. incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected: impervious to reason; impervious to another's suffering.
Also, im⋅per⋅vi⋅a⋅ble  [im-pur-vee-uh-buhl] .

Origin:
1640–50; < L impervius. See im- 2 , pervious

Related forms:
im⋅per⋅vi⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
im⋅per⋅vi⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
3. invulnerable, closed.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To impervious
im·per·vi·ous   (ĭm-pûr'vē-əs)   
adj.  
  1. Incapable of being penetrated: a material impervious to water.
  2. Incapable of being affected: impervious to fear.

[From Latin impervius : in-, not; see in-1 + pervius, pervious; see pervious.]
im·per'vi·ous·ly adv., im·per'vi·ous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Impervious

Im*per"vi*ous\, a. [L. impervius; pref. im- not + per through + via way. See Voyage.] Not pervious; not admitting of entrance or passage through; as, a substance impervious to water or air.

This gulf impassable, impervious. --Milton.

The minds of these zealots were absolutely impervious. --Macaulay.

Syn: Impassable; pathless; impenetrable; imperviable; impermeable. -- Im*per"vi*ous*ly, adv. -- Im*per"vi*ous*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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impervious 
1650, from L. impervius "that cannot be passed through," from in- "not" + pervius "letting things through," from per "through" + via "road."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: im·per·vi·ous
Pronunciation: (')im-'p&r-vE-&s
Function: adjective
: not allowing entrance or passage impervious to air and light> —im·per·vi·ous·ness noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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