invisiblein‧vis‧i‧ble /ɪnˈvɪzəbəl/ ●●○ AWL adjective 
The house was surrounded by trees, and invisible from the road.invisible to The plane is meant to be invisible to radar. Using a telescope, Galileo discovered stars that were invisible to the naked eye.virtually/practically/almost etc invisible2not noticed, or not talked about: There’s an invisible barrier that keeps women out of top jobs.3invisible earnings/exports/trade etc money that is made from services and tourism rather than from products—invisibly adverb—invisibility /ɪnˌvɪzəˈbɪləti/ noun [uncountable]
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- He nodded toward the distant ship. invisible in the darkness.
- The gas is invisible but highly dangerous.
- The space probe can photograph parts of the electronic spectrum that are invisible to the naked eye.
- Word Perfect uses invisible codes for many different functions.
- Criminology, like crime control, tends to focus on males and marginalise females or render them invisible.
- I stand up and begin to look for the invisible rung.
- In fact, some of the most exciting transport architectures are invisible.
- The pull of the invisible creature grew stronger.
- Then he straightened and dusted invisible grains of dirt from the knees of his coveralls.
Longman Language Activatorwhen something cannot be seen or is difficult to see
if something is invisible , it cannot be seen: · The gas is invisible but highly dangerous.· Word Perfect uses invisible codes for many different functions.· He nodded toward the distant ship, invisible in the darkness.invisible to the naked eye (=invisible without using special instruments to help you): · The space probe can photograph parts of the electronic spectrum that are invisible to the naked eye.
if someone or something is out of sight , you cannot see them, for example because they are too far away or they are behind something else: · Jim waited until his parents' car was out of sight and then left the house.· It's best to keep your purse out of sight in this office.drop/pass out of sight (=move to a position where you cannot be seen): · We both quickly dropped out of sight behind the desk.· The car passed out of sight over the hill. out of sight of: · He would punch and kick me as soon as we were out of sight of the teachers.
to no longer be able to see someone or something because they have moved too far away from you, especially when you are chasing them: · Police lost sight of the man when he ran into a crowd of people.· They gave up the chase, losing sight of the car as it turned the corner.
: dim shape/outline/figure etc one that is difficult to see because it is too far away or because there is not enough light: · He saw the dim outline of the taxi-driver's head inside the cab.· There was enough starlight coming in the window to make out the dim shapes of bunkbeds and rucksacks.
something that is indistinct is difficult to see because its edges are unclear or it is very small: · Even with the binoculars, I could barely make out the indistinct shapes gliding through the water.· All the police have to go on is a grainy, indistinct video clip.
part of a place that is within the area that you can see, but that you cannot see properly or easily: · His son walked into his blind spot just as he was reversing the car.· The recent escapes have prompted prison officers to install video camera surveillance of the blind spot.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Using a telescope, Galileo discovered stars that were invisible to the naked eye.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Through his telescope he could see millions of stars that were invisible to the naked eye.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
Using a telescope, Galileo discovered stars that were invisible to the naked eye. (=services that are exported, such as banking or insurance, rather than a product)· The City of London is important to the invisible exports of this country.
Through his telescope he could see millions of stars that were invisible to the naked eye.· He was nearing her, his face almost invisible because the light was behind him.· Glover waited and then saw the man standing just inside the screen, almost invisible.· A stream of laser light, almost invisible in the near-vacuum, played across the creature's head and glistening body.· Outside the almost invisible windows, Earth and stars marched in a silent procession.· Above the village, almost invisible against the velvet shroud of the night sky, something huge silently blotted out the stars.· Galindo was left on the fringe of the sport, almost invisible.· The entrance to the Dark Cave is almost invisible but the chamber inside is large.· Against their huge bulk, the pilgrims and mule toiling up the almost invisible pathways are tiny and humbled.
· So long as a tiger stands still or moves slowly, its stripes make it practically invisible in the jungle or among reeds.
· Thereafter their history remains virtually invisible for a hundred million years.· They are attached to the speaker's clothing and are virtually invisible on shot.· The ring is virtually invisible around the central cornea which is the critical area for clear vision.· Soon they may be virtually invisible except for a discreet beacon.· Because of its thin design and attractive white finish it's virtually invisible when the radiator is in place.· It will be quiet, manoeuvrable, virtually invisible to radar and capable of supersonic flight without the use of afterburners.
NOUN· If she fixed her focus with enough concentration she could envisage the invisible barrier.· Yet there was Orr, gliding along as if shielded by an invisible barrier as the Hawks sleep-skated sheeplike in his wake.· They work by forming an invisible barrier to prevent water loss.
· Just as death leads to the invisible body, so does birth.· The true medium is the artist, who opens the way for whatever needs to emerge from the invisible body.· Works of imagination make visible the invisible body.
· Trade gap narrows despite cut in invisible earnings.· On this basis, Britain was the world's biggest generator of invisible earnings, and has probably remained so this year.· Such earnings are little appreciated outside the specialist areas of business such as finance and insurance which directly contribute to invisible earnings.
· This has been undesirable, but not of critical importance because our income from invisible exports has made good the difference.· There were probably invisible exports too: exports of technical skill and artistry, exports of medicine and magic.
· Not until higher prices translate into higher profits for private owners will enterprises respond appropriately to the bidding of the invisible hand.· The invisible hand influences what prod-ucts will be produced and at what price.· It had shaken her to see her own first name being written like that by an invisible hand.· Similarly, the invisible hand of the market establishes value.· Once again, I must stress that I do not see a great male conspiracy behind this, nor invisible hands guiding it.· That invisible hand was coevolutionary life.· Imagine holding out your leg and feeling it with your invisible hand while being unable actually to see it.· The invisible hand was tempted to show Tom its middle finger.
· A newly created invisible ink makes the animals disappear with the heat of your body.· Vietcong couriers slipped into Saigon to pick up his reports, which he wrote in invisible ink made from starch.
· Fine, almost invisible lines covered the whole surface, as if the sphere were netted by the frailest of spiders' webs.· A drifting cloud disappeared against some invisible line and began to emerge in another part of the sky altogether.· In dOing 80, he had crossed an invisible line that separated the white and black beaches.· She felt as though an invisible line through her backbone held her upright.· The invisible lines, which traced the patterns of their existence, merged into one.· Bobbie exhorted, as we sat staring at the invisible line that stretched beyond us.
· Platt was the invisible man - he did nothing - hah!· He was now an invisible man, a lethal specter.· By halftime, it was 44-31, with Barkley scoring just two points and Coimbra playing the invisible man.
· He found that in such a place present was near to past and visible near to the invisible world.· The bird travels to the invisible worlds above, and the snake slithers into the mysteries below ground.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
- Moreover, the major source of under-recording on the balance of payments up to 1949 was invisible trade.
- On this basis, Britain was the world's biggest generator of invisible earnings, and has probably remained so this year.
- Such earnings are little appreciated outside the specialist areas of business such as finance and insurance which directly contribute to invisible earnings.
- There were probably invisible exports too: exports of technical skill and artistry, exports of medicine and magic.
- This has been undesirable, but not of critical importance because our income from invisible exports has made good the difference.
- Trade gap narrows despite cut in invisible earnings.
WORD FAMILYnounvisibility ≠ invisibilityadjectivevisible ≠ invisibleadverbvisibly ≠ invisibly
1something that is invisible cannot be seen OPP visible: The house was surrounded by trees, and invisible from the road.invisible to The plane is meant to be invisible to radar. Using a telescope, Galileo discovered stars that were invisible to the naked eye.virtually/practically/almost etc invisible2not noticed, or not talked about: There’s an invisible barrier that keeps women out of top jobs.3invisible earnings/exports/trade etc money that is made from services and tourism rather than from products—invisibly adverb—invisibility /ɪnˌvɪzəˈbɪləti/ noun [uncountable]