imperceptibly
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Etymology tree
From imperceptible + -ly.
Adverb
[edit]imperceptibly (comparative more imperceptibly, superlative most imperceptibly)
- Not noticeably; such that it cannot be detected, through being too small or too fast, etc.
- No one noticed that he had moved imperceptibly backwards.
- 1838, William Andrus Alcott, chapter I, in The Young House-keeper: Or, Thoughts on Food and Cookery[1], third stereotype edition, Boston: George W. Light, page 21:
- It often happens that the most important results in the natural world are brought about by causes which operate silently, if not imperceptibly.
- 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 154:
- The moon moved imperceptibly towards setting.
- 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 358:
- Which means that at the moment Raven entered her, a very small hypodermic needle slipped imperceptibly into the engorged frontal vein of his penis, automatically shooting a cocktail of powerful narcotics and depressants into his bloodstream.
Translations
[edit]not noticeably
|