impermeable

See also: imperméable

English

Etymology

Apparently from im- +‎ permeable. Compare French imperméable, from Latin impermeābilis, from im- + permeābilis (“permeable”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɜːmɪəbəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

  • Audio (Multicultural British English):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɝmɪəbəl/, /ɪmˈpɝmiəbəl/
• (Australia) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɜːmɪəbəl/

Adjective

impermeable (comparative more impermeable, superlative most impermeable)

1. Impossible to permeate.
2. Not allowing passage, especially of liquids; waterproof.

Synonyms

• nonpermeable
• sealed

Antonyms

• permeable

Derived terms

• impermeableness
• impermeably

Related terms

• impermeability
• permeability

Translations

impossible to permeate

• Belarusian: непранікальны (njepranikalʹny)
• Bulgarian: непроницаем (bg) (nepronicaem), херметичен (hermetičen)
• Catalan: impermeable (ca)
• French: imperméable (fr)
• Galician: impermeábel (gl) m or f
• German: dicht (de)
• Greek: αδιαπέραστος (el) m (adiapérastos)
• Indonesian: kedap (id)
• Irish: neamh-thréscaoilteach, neamhscagach
• Latin: impermeābilis
• Malay: tak telap
• Māori: tukukore
• Portuguese: impermeável (pt)
• Russian: непроницаемый (ru) (nepronicajemyj)
• Spanish: impermeable (es)
• Swedish: ogenomtränglig (sv), tät (sv)
• Tagalog: dimatulot
• Welsh: anathraidd

not allowing passage of liquids

• Belarusian: непрамакальны (njepramakalʹny)
• Bulgarian: непромокаем (bg) (nepromokaem)
• Catalan: impermeable (ca)
• Finnish: läpäisemätön (fi)
• French: imperméable (fr)
• Galician: impermeábel (gl) m or f
• German: dicht (de)
• Greek: αδιάβροχος (el) m (adiávrochos)
• Irish: neamh-thréscaoilteach
• Portuguese: impermeável (pt)
• Russian: непромока́емый (ru) (nepromokájemyj)
• Spanish: impermeable (es)
• Swedish: ogenomtränglig (sv), tät (sv), vattentät (sv)
• Tagalog: dimatulot
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

See also

• hermetically sealed
• impenetrable

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin impermeābilis. By surface analysis, im- +‎ permeable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [im.pər.me̞ˈab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central) [im.pər.meˈab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [im.peɾ.meˈa.ble]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [im.per.meˈab.ble]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

impermeable m or f (masculine and feminine plural impermeables)

1. impermeable

   Antonym: permeable

Derived terms

• impermeabilitzar

Related terms

• impermeabilitat

Noun

impermeable m (plural impermeables)

1. raincoat

Further reading

• “impermeable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “impermeable”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “impermeable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “impermeable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “impermeable”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Galician

Alternative forms

• impermeábel

Etymology

From Latin impermeābilis, equivalent to im- +‎ permeable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ĩmpeɾˈmeaβle/

Adjective

impermeable m or f (plural impermeables)

1. impermeable, waterproof

   Antonym: permeable

Noun

impermeable m (plural impermeables)

1. raincoat

Derived terms

• impermeabilidade
• impermeabilizar

Further reading

• “impermeable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin impermeābilis, equivalent to im- +‎ permeable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /impeɾmeˈable/ [ĩm.peɾ.meˈa.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: im‧per‧me‧a‧ble

Adjective

impermeable m or f (masculine and feminine plural impermeables)

1. impermeable, waterproof

   Antonym: permeable

Noun

impermeable m (plural impermeables)

1. raincoat

   Synonyms: chubasquero, piloto

Derived terms

• impermeabilidad
• impermeabilizar

Further reading

• “impermeable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025