impervious

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UK/ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/US/ɪmˈpɝ.vi.əs/

adjective

Unaffected or unable to be affected by something.

“The old car seemed to be impervious to the wear and tear of age.”

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 17

Meanings

adjectiveimpervious (comparative more impervious, superlative most impervious)

comparative more impervious · superlative most impervious

  1. Unaffected or unable to be affected by something.

    The man was completely impervious to the deception we were trying.

    2 more examples

    Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.

    1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

    For the past decade there were two more or less universally acknowledged truths about digital advertising. First, the rapidly growing industry was largely impervious to the business cycle.

    2022 September 18, “The $300bn Google-Meta advertising duopoly is under attack”, in The Economist, →ISSN
  2. Preventive of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable, particularly of water.

    Although patchworked and sagging, the roof proved impervious to the weather.

    1 more example

    The white faience façade, the glazed Doultonware Carrera marble, was made locally. And being glazed, it was impervious to London's sooty atmosphere, enabling easier cleaning.

    2023 December 13, Robin Leleux, “Restored... and a richly deserved award: Findlater's Corner”, in RAIL, number 998, page 43
  3. Immune to damage or effect.

    The old car seemed to be impervious to the wear and tear of age.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite

adjectivenot admitting of passage or capable of being affected

Opposite

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinimpervius“that cannot be passed through”
  2. Englishimpervious

From Latin impervius (“that cannot be passed through”), from in- (“not”) + pervius (“letting things through”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian неуязвим, непроницаем
  • неуязвим (neujazvim)unaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • непроницаем (nepronicaem)preventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • неуязвим (neujazvim)immune to damage or effect
Catalan immune, impenetrable
  • immuneunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • impenetrablepreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • impermeablepreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • immuneimmune to damage or effect
  • invulnerableimmune to damage or effect
Chinese Mandarin 无动于衷, 不受影响的
  • 无动于衷 (wúdòngyúzhōng)unaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • 不受影响的unaffected or unable to be affected by something
Danish uigennemtrængelig
  • uigennemtrængeligpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
Dutch onvatbaar, ongevoelig
  • onvatbaarunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • ongevoeligunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • ondoordringbaarpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • ondoorlaatbaarpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • onkwetsbaarimmune to damage or effect
  • ongevoeligimmune to damage or effect
Finnish vastaanottamaton, läpäisemätön
  • vastaanottamatonunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • läpäisemätönpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • läpipääsemätönpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • vahingoittumatonimmune to damage or effect
French immunisé, insensible
  • immuniséunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • insensibleunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • impénétrablepreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • imperméablepreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • intouchableimmune to damage or effect
  • insensibleimmune to damage or effect
German gleichgültig, unempfindlich
  • gleichgültigunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • unempfindlichunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • undurchlässigpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • undurchdringlichimmune to damage or effect
  • undurchdringbarimmune to damage or effect
Hungarian megingathatatlan, áthatolhatatlan
  • megingathatatlanunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • áthatolhatatlanpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • ellenállóimmune to damage or effect
Italian impermeabile
  • impermeabilepreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
Japanese 鉄壁の
  • 鉄壁の (teppeki no)preventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
Māori pītongatonga
  • pītongatongapreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
Norwegian Bokmål ugjennomtrengelig
  • ugjennomtrengeligpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
Polish obojętny, nieprzenikliwy
  • obojętnyunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • nieprzenikliwypreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • nieprzepuszczalnypreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • odpornyimmune to damage or effect
  • nieczułyimmune to damage or effect
  • obojętnyimmune to damage or effect
Portuguese impérvio, impenetrável
  • impérviounaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • impenetrávelpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • impérviopreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • impérvioimmune to damage or effect
Romanian indiferent, insensibil
  • indiferentunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • insensibilunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • impenetrabilpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • impermeabilpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • insensibilimmune to damage or effect
Russian непроница́емый, невосприи́мчивый
  • непроница́емый (nepronicájemyj)unaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • невосприи́мчивый (nevospriímčivyj)unaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • неуязви́мый (neujazvímyj)unaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • непроница́емый (nepronicájemyj)preventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • невосприи́мчивый (nevospriímčivyj)immune to damage or effect
  • неуязви́мый (neujazvímyj)immune to damage or effect
Spanish inmune, impervio
  • inmuneunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • imperviounaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • impenetrablepreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • impermeablepreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • imperviopreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • insensibleimmune to damage or effect
  • invulnerableimmune to damage or effect
  • impervioimmune to damage or effect
Turkish etkilenmez, geçirmez
  • etkilenmezunaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • geçirmezpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • su geçirmezpreventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • dayanıklıimmune to damage or effect
Ukrainian несприйня́тливий, невразли́вий
  • несприйня́тливий (nespryjnjátlyvyj)unaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • невразли́вий (nevrazlývyj)unaffected or unable to be affected by something
  • непроникни́й (nepronyknýj)preventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • непрони́кливий (nepronýklyvyj)preventative of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable
  • несприйня́тливий (nespryjnjátlyvyj)immune to damage or effect
  • невразли́вий (nevrazlývyj)immune to damage or effect

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with impervious

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

impervious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impervious

MLA

“impervious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impervious. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “impervious,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impervious.

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