impedance
noun
Simple meaning
A measure of opposition to motion of something subjected to a force.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihmpeeduhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪmˈpidəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
physicsusually with "mechanical"
A measure of opposition to motion of something subjected to a force; the ratio of force to velocity treated as complex quantities.
physics
A material's opposition to the flow of electric current; measured in ohms
physics
A measure of the opposition to the flow of an alternating current in a circuit; the aggregation of its resistance, and inductive and capacitive reactances; the ratio of voltage to current treated as complex quantities.
The act of impeding; that which impedes; a hindrance.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A measure of opposition to motion of something subjected to a force; the ratio of force to velocity treated as complex quantities.
Used this way, impedance is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Opposition to the flow of sound through a surface.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.