haptic

hapt·ic
H4A1P3T1I1C3
US, UK/ˈhæptɪk/

adjective

Of or relating to the sense of touch.

UncommonScrabble 13

Meanings

adjectivehaptic (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf or relating to the sense of touch.

    So there may be sciences of touch, taste, and smell; which will be Haptic, Geustic and Osphrantic.

    1860, Isaac Barrow, “[Lectiones Mathematicæ] Lect. II. [Of the Parts of Mathematics.]”, in W[illiam] Whewell, editor, The Mathematical Works of Isaac Barrow, D.D. Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, Cambridge: Printed at the University Press, →OCLC, page 43, footnote
    2 more examples

    Although the five basic senses are often studied as individual systems covering visual, auditory, taste, smell, orientation and the haptic sensations, there is an interplay between the senses.

    1999, Derek Clements-Croome, “Consciousness, Well-being and the Senses”, in Derek Clements-Croome, editor, Creating the Productive Workplace, London; New York, N.Y.: E. & F. N. Spon, Routledge, →ISBN, page 34

    An engineer tends to describe haptics primarily in terms of forces, elongations, frequencies, mechanical tensions, and shear forces. This of course makes sense and is important for the technical design process. However haptics is more than that. Haptic perceptions range from minor interactions in everyday life, e.g., drinking from a glass or writing this text, to a means of social communication, e.g., shaking hands or giving someone a pat on the shoulder, and very personal and private interpersonal experiences.

    2014, Christian Hatzfield, Thorsten A[lexander] Kern, “Motivation and Application of Haptic Systems”, in Christian Hatzfield, Thorsten A. Kern, editors, Engineering Haptic Devices: A Beginner's Guide for Engineers (Springer Series on Touch and Haptic Systems), 2nd edition, London; Heidelberg: Springer, →DOI, →ISBN, page 4

    Synonyms: tactile

  2. not comparablecomputingOf or relating to haptics (“the study of user interfaces that use the sense of touch”).

    We might think, for example, about tele- (or remote) surgery, a technique that, now more than ever before, is enabling surgeons around the world to operate using haptic interfaces that control robotic systems located at different locations.

    2014, Alberto Gallace, Charles Spence, “Introduction”, in In Touch with the Future: The Sense of Touch from Cognitive Neuroscience to Virtual Reality, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    [T]he new standard should encompass other media, such as video, audio (both captured and synthetic), and in principle be extensible to new modalities such as haptic output and speech or gestural input, which have become increasingly integrated within graphics applications; […]

    1999, David J. Duke, Ivan Herman, M. Scott Marshall, “Preface”, in PREMO: A Framework for Multimedia Middleware: Specification, Rationale, and Java Binding (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; 1591), Berlin; Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, →ISBN, →ISSN, page v

    Haptic feedback, or virtual touch, can also contribute to an IVE [immersive virtual environment] by providing forces or resistance with a physical device that resists a physical hand or finger. […] Vibration motors in smartphones and tablets can also be seen as a rudimentary form of haptic feedback.

    2015, Cody O. Karutz, Jeremy N. Bailenson, “Immersive Virtual Environments and the Classrooms of Tomorrow”, in S. Shyam Sundar, editor, The Handbook of the Psychology of Communication Technology, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN, page 295

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveOf or relating to the sense of touch.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveof or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἁπτικός“able to come in contact with”
  2. Englishhaptic

From Ancient Greek ἁπτικός (haptikós, “able to come in contact with”), from ἅπτω (háptō, “to touch”) + -ικός (-ikós, suffix forming adjectives from nouns).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian осезателен
  • осезателен (osezatelen)of or relating to the sense of touch
Chinese Mandarin 觸覺的 /触觉的, 觸覺介面的 /触觉介面的
  • 觸覺的 /触觉的 (chùjué de)of or relating to the sense of touch
  • 觸覺介面的 /触觉介面的 (chùjué jièmiàn de)of or relating to haptics
Czech hmatový
  • hmatovýof or relating to the sense of touch
Dutch haptisch, haptisch
  • haptischof or relating to the sense of touch
  • haptischof or relating to haptics
Finnish haptinen, haptinen
  • haptinenof or relating to the sense of touch
  • haptinenof or relating to haptics
French tactile, haptique
  • tactileof or relating to the sense of touch
  • haptiqueof or relating to haptics
German haptisch
  • haptischof or relating to the sense of touch
Greek απτικός, απτικός
  • απτικός (aptikós)of or relating to the sense of touch
  • απτικός (aptikós)of or relating to haptics
Italian aptico, aptico
  • apticoof or relating to the sense of touch
  • apticoof or relating to haptics
Persian لامسهای
  • لامسهایof or relating to the sense of touch
Polish haptyczny, dotykowy
  • haptycznyof or relating to the sense of touch
  • dotykowyof or relating to the sense of touch
  • haptycznyof or relating to haptics
Portuguese tátil, táctil
  • tátilof or relating to the sense of touch
  • táctilof or relating to the sense of touch
  • hápticoof or relating to haptics
Russian такти́льный, осяза́тельный
  • такти́льный (taktílʹnyj)of or relating to the sense of touch
  • осяза́тельный (osjazátelʹnyj)of or relating to the sense of touch
  • гаптический (gaptičeskij)of or relating to the sense of touch
  • тактильный (taktilʹnyj)of or relating to haptics
Spanish táctil, háptico
  • táctilof or relating to the sense of touch
  • hápticoof or relating to the sense of touch
  • hápticoof or relating to haptics
Swedish haptisk, taktil
  • haptiskof or relating to the sense of touch
  • taktilof or relating to the sense of touch
  • haptiskof or relating to haptics

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with haptic

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

haptic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haptic

MLA

“haptic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haptic. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “haptic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haptic.

Source: haptic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.