impervious
/ɪmˈpɝ.vi.əs/adjective
impervious is spelled I-M-P-E-R-V-I-O-U-S: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, impervious means “Unaffected or unable to be affected by something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in impervious?
| Letters | 10: I-M-P-E-R-V-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is impervious?
Impervious appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce impervious?
- UK /ɪmˈpɜːvi.əs/
- US /ɪmˈpɝ.vi.əs/
Impervious has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-impervious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with impervious?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as impervious from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹviəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of impervious
- more impervious comparative
- most impervious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does impervious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Unaffected or unable to be affected by something.
The man was completely impervious to the deception we were trying.
- 2
Preventive of any penetration; impenetrable, impermeable, particularly of water.
Although patchworked and sagging, the roof proved impervious to the weather.
- 3
Immune to damage or effect.
The old car seemed to be impervious to the wear and tear of age.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Impervious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | immunisé, insensible , impénétrable, imperméable , intouchable |
| German | gleichgültig, unempfindlich , undurchlässig , undurchdringlich, undurchdringbar |
| Portuguese | impérvio , impenetrável |
| Spanish | inmune, impervio , impenetrable, impermeable , insensible |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does impervious come from?
From Latin impervius (“that cannot be passed through”), from in- (“not”) + pervius (“letting things through”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).