Meaning & use
tamperproof
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Built so that no one can change, open or damage it without permission, or without it being obvious.
Grammar: Usually not comparable; used before a noun or after be: tamperproof packaging; the seal is tamperproof.
The medicine comes in tamperproof packaging.
Voting machines need to be tamperproof to keep elections fair.
The company installed a tamperproof seal on each box.
Common combinations
- tamperproof packaging
- Tamperproof packaging helps protect the pills.
- tamperproof seal
- A tamperproof seal covers the cap.
- tamperproof design
- The lock has a tamperproof design.
- completely tamperproof
- No system is completely tamperproof.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tamper-evident
- Tamper-evident means it shows when someone has opened it, whereas tamperproof means it cannot be opened or changed.
- secure
- Secure is a broad word for safe, while tamperproof is specifically about resisting interference.
- sealed
- Sealed means closed and does not promise that the seal cannot be broken, while tamperproof does.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: tamperproof or foolproof?
tamperproof vs foolproof
Foolproof means impossible to use wrongly, even by a careless person. Tamperproof means impossible to interfere with.
Practice
To protect shoppers, the company switched to ___ bottles with a seal that cannot be changed.
Choose one answer.
Tamperproof means protected from interference. Childproof caps keep children out, which is tempting, but the context is about preventing changes to the seal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tamperproof”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.