Imperforated

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Devoid of any openings or holes in a structure
2. Characterized by a complete absence of perforations that would permit passage through a material
3. Not having any holes or cuts that penetrate through the surface

Etymology: "Imperforated" is built from the prefix "im-", meaning "not" or "without", attached to "perforated," the past participle of the Latin verb "perforare," "to bore through." Put together, the word describes something that has no holes, pores, or openings, such as a postage stamp printed without the perforations that let it be torn apart, or a membrane or tissue that is closed where it should be open. The "im-" prefix is the same negating element found in words like "impossible" and "immobile," and it is used here in its ordinary sense of reversing or removing whatever the base word describes. "Perforated" itself comes from the Latin "per-," "through," and "forare," "to bore," so the root idea is simply drilling through a surface. Its negative form therefore describes a surface that has been left whole, with nothing bored through it.

Synonyms: sealed, closed, unperforated, impenetrable, solid

Antonyms: perforated, pierced, opened, hollowed, ventilated