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Haptic felt its way into English in the 19th century as a back-formation of haptics, a noun which was borrowed from the New Latin hapticē (meaning "science of touch," and derived ultimately from the Greek haptesthai, meaning "to touch") in the 1700s. Haptic was originally a medical synonym for tactile. By the 20th century, it had developed a psychological sense, describing individuals whose perception supposedly depended primarily on touch rather than sight. Although almost no one today divides humans into haptic and visual personalities, English retains the broadened psychological sense of haptic as well as the older "tactile" sense.
Examples of haptic in a Sentence
Cierra Cowan,
PC Magazine,
6 July 2026
What Comes Next for Stress Fitness Expect closed-loop experiences within the next six to 12 months, where a spike in your stress score automatically triggers a haptic or audio protocol.
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Samantha Agate,
Charlotte Observer,
3 July 2026
Recently, Italian researchers developed a wearable robotic exoskeleton that provides real-time haptic feedback, helping musicians improve synchronization, coordination, and timing during collaborative performances.
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Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 July 2026
Other bits of tech include haptic feedback units and LED indicators in the bars, along with a microprocessor running AI algorithms.
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New Atlas,
19 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Haptic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haptic. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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