imposition
noun
Simple meaning
The act of imposing, laying on, affixing, enjoining, inflicting, obtruding, and the like.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihmpuhzishuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪmpəˈzɪʃən
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
The act of imposing something (as a tax or an embargo)
The act of imposing, laying on, affixing, enjoining, inflicting, obtruding, and the like.
That which is imposed, levied, or enjoined.
An unwelcome burden, presence, or obligation.
An uncalled-for burden
“He listened but resented the imposition.”
UKschool or university slang
A task imposed on a student as punishment.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of imposing something (as a tax or an embargo)
Used this way, imposition 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
- Matter-of-fact
- 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 imposition
- “He listened but resented the imposition.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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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.