impose
verb
Simple meaning
To apply, enforce, or establish with authority.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihmpohzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪmˈpoʊz
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.
verb
transitivefigurative
To apply, enforce, or establish (something, often regarded as burdensome as a restriction or tax: see verb, sense 1.2.1) with authority.
To encroach or intrude, especially in a manner regarded as unfair or unwarranted; to presume, to take advantage of; also, to be a burden or inconvenience.
transitive
To affect authoritatively or forcefully; to influence strongly.
transitiveintransitive
Chiefly followed by on or upon.
To practise deceit or stealth; to cheat, to deceive, to trick.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (figurative) To apply, enforce, or establish (something, often regarded as burdensome as a restriction or tax: see verb, sense 1.2.1) with authority.
Used this way, impose is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in finance or economics contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Finance/economics
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use impose
- “Social relations impose courtesy.”verb
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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.