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impression

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Pressing one thing on or into the surface of another.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihmprehshuhn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪmpˈɹɛʃən

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The act of pressing one thing on or into the surface of another

    “He watched the impression of the seal on the hot wax.”

  2. The overall effect of something, e.g., on a person.

  3. The indentation or depression made by the pressure of one object on or into another.

  4. An impersonation, an imitation of the mannerisms of another individual.

  5. An outward appearance

  6. A vague recalling of an event, a belief.

verb

  1. To manipulate a blank key within a lock so as to mark it with impressions of the shape of the lock, which facilitates creation of a duplicate key.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The act of pressing one thing on or into the surface of another

Used this way, impression is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“He watched the impression of the seal on the hot wax.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Usage note

It most often appears in the pattern “impression of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.

Natural pattern: impression of …

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use impression

  • “He watched the impression of the seal on the hot wax.”noun
  • “His impression of her was favorable.”noun
  • “He left the impression of his fingers in the soft mud.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

All / set

first impressiongood impressionstrong impression

Other combinations

general impressiondeep impressionfalse impressionlasting impressiongreat impression

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • impressionistnounPerson or profession

    A painter who follows the theories of Impressionism.

  • impressionismnounDerived noun · specialist

    A school of late 19th century French painters who pictured appearances by strokes of unmixed colors to give the impression of reflected light.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to manipulate a blank key within a lock so as to mark it with impressions of the shape of the lock

imprint

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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.