What does impervious mean?
Word: Impervious
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Impervious means not letting water or anything else pass through. It can also mean not affected by what others say or do.
Synonyms: watertight, unaffected
How do you spell impervious?
Syllables: im - per - vi - ous
Tricky part: The ending causes most slips. Pupils hear a short sound before ous and either leave out the i or put e in its place.
Watch out for: imperveous, impervius
Memory tip: A small i in a raincoat stands guard just before ous, letting nothing get past it.
Impervious in a sentence
Example 1: The new tarpaulin is impervious to water, so the books stayed dry.
Example 2: The goalkeeper played on, impervious to the cold drizzle at Shillong.
Example 3: Wax makes the canvas almost impervious to dust and damp.
Fun Fact
Its Latin parent described a place with no way through, and English stretched the idea to people who take no notice of what they hear.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Although the old shed looked flimsy, its thick coat of tar kept it impurvious to the rain all through July.
a) although
b) through
c) flimsy
d) impurvious
Show answer
d) impurvious. The vowel after the p is the e of perfect, not the u of purple.
Mingle-Mangle
Which word do the jumbled letters in the sentence spell?
Her thick woollen jacket was almost oepimiurvs to the icy wind from the hills.
a) impervious
b) imperious
c) impressive
d) impetuous
Show answer
a) impervious. Ten letters, with a v and an o: that leaves one option.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word impervious as used in the sentence:
The young batter seemed impervious to the noise of the huge crowd.
a) unmoved
b) resistant
c) sensitive
d) immune
Show answer
c) sensitive. If she had noticed and minded the noise, she would be the opposite of this word.
Spell-o-Spell
One word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word:
1. tenacious 2. obstinete 3. resilient 4. impervious
a) refusing to change your mind at all
b) not open to any outside influence
c) holding on firmly to a purpose
d) able to recover quickly from trouble
Show answer
a) refusing to change your mind at all. Obstinate finishes in ate; the other three are spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A tent is described as impervious. What can campers expect on a wet night?
a) a dry floor and dry sleeping bags
b) rain dripping through the seams
c) a damp smell filling the tent
d) puddles forming around their bags
Show answer
a) a dry floor and dry sleeping bags
2. The headmistress was impervious to our complaints about homework. What happened?
a) She went on exactly as before.
b) She apologised to the whole class.
c) She cut the homework at once.
d) She asked us for more ideas.
Show answer
a) She went on exactly as before.
