TACTILE

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Producing a sensation of touch

Example:

the tactual luxury of stroking silky human hair

Synonyms:

tactile; tactual

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

tangible; touchable (perceptible by the senses especially the sense of touch)

Derivation:

tactility (the faculty of perceiving (via the skin) pressure or heat or pain)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch

Example:

a tactile reflex

Synonyms:

haptic; tactile; tactual

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

touch (the faculty by which external objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body (especially the hands))

touch (the sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin)

Derivation:

tactility (the faculty of perceiving (via the skin) pressure or heat or pain)

Credits

Context examples:

This pioneering new study demonstrates that the causes of cold allodynia are exclusively neuronal in nature and that it is a direct response to the nerve injury, while tactile allodynia is the result of complex interactions between the immune system and the nervous system.

(Genetic study paves way for new neuropathic pain treatments, University of Granada)

When an individual suffers from this chronic condition, sensory stimuli such as temperature (especially cold sensations) and tactile sensations, which under normal circumstances do not generally cause pain, are interpreted by the nervous system as acutely painful.