tactile

adjective tac·tile \ˈtak-t^əl, -ˌtī(-ə)l\

: relating to the sense of touch

Full Definition of TACTILE

: perceptible by touch : tangible

: of, relating to, or being the sense of touch

— tac·tile·ly \-tə-lē, -ˌtīl-lē\ adverb

See tactile defined for English-language learners

See tactile defined for kids

Examples of TACTILE

He not only had visual difficulties but tactile ones, too—witness his grasping his wife's head and mistaking it for a hat … —Oliver Sacks, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2002
There is a tactile and therefore somatic dimension to stroking the chalk that keeps the artist in constant, responsible and responsive touch with his emerging creation. —Jed Perl, New Republic, 17 June 2002
The keyboard has good tactile feedback, and the touch pad is responsive without being too twitchy. —Bruce Brown, PC Magazine, 20 Feb. 2001
… nothing prepared me for the tactile reality of the original volumes, leaf after carefully written leaf over which his hand had travelled … —Edmund Morris, New Yorker, 16 Jan. 1995
Near midday the heat of the sun bounced up from the bare patches of soil to hit with an almost tactile force. —Edward O. Wilson, Smithsonian, October 1984
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Origin of TACTILE

French or Latin; French, from Latin tactilis, from tangere to touch — more at tangent

First Known Use: 1615

Rhymes with TACTILE

dactyl

TACTILE Defined for Kids

tactile

adjective tac·tile \ˈtak-təl\

Definition of TACTILE for Kids

: relating to the sense of touch

Word Root of TACTILE

The Latin word tangere, meaning “to touch,” and its form tactus give us the roots tang and tact. Words from the Latin tangere have something to do with touching. Something tangible is able to be touched. Contact is a meeting or touching of people or things. Something intact is unharmed, whole, and untouched. Anything tactile relates to the sense of touch.