Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Impress

Im-press′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Impressed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Impressing
.]
[L.
impressus
, p. p. of
imprimere
to impress; pref.
im-
in, on +
premere
to press. See
Press
to squeeze, and cf.
Imprint
.]
1.
To press, stamp, or print something in or upon; to mark by pressure, or as by pressure; to imprint (that which bears the impression).
His heart, like an agate, with your print
impressed
.
Shakespeare
2.
To produce by pressure, as a mark, stamp, image, etc.; to imprint (a mark or figure upon something).
3.
Fig.:
To fix deeply in the mind; to present forcibly to the attention, etc.; to imprint; to inculcate.
Impress
the motives of persuasion upon our own hearts till we feel the force of them.
I. Watts.
4.
[See
Imprest
,
Impress
,
Noun.
, 5.]
To take by force for public service;
as, to
impress
sailors or money
.
The second five thousand pounds
impressed
for the service of the sick and wounded prisoners.
Evelyn.

Im-press′

,
Verb.
I.
To be impressed; to rest.
[Obs.]
Such fiendly thoughts in his heart
impress
.
Chaucer.

Im′press

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Impresses
.
1.
The act of impressing or making.
2.
A mark made by pressure; an indentation; imprint; the image or figure of anything, formed by pressure or as if by pressure; result produced by pressure or influence.
The
impresses
of the insides of these shells.
Woodward.
This weak
impress
of love is as a figure
Trenched in ice.
Shakespeare
3.
Characteristic; mark of distinction; stamp.
South.
4.
A device. See
Impresa
.
Cussans.
To describe . . . emblazoned shields,
Impresses
quaint.
Milton.
5.
[See
Imprest
,
Press
to force into service.]
The act of impressing, or taking by force for the public service; compulsion to serve; also, that which is impressed.
Why such
impress
of shipwrights?
Shakespeare
Impress gang
,
a party of men, with an officer, employed to impress seamen for ships of war; a
press gang
.
–
Impress money
,
a sum of money paid, immediately upon their entering service, to men who have been impressed.

Webster 1828 Edition

Impress

IMPRESS'

,
Verb.
T.
[L. impressum, from imprimo; in and premo, to press.]
1.
To imprint; to stamp; to make a mark or figure on any thing by pressure; as, to impress coin with the figure of a man's head, or with that of any ox or sheep; to impress a figure on wax or clay.
2.
To print, as books.
3.
To mark; to indent.
4.
To fix deep; as, to impress truth on the mind, or facts on the memory. Hence, to convict of sin.
5.
To compel to enter into public service, as seamen; to seize and take into service by compulsion, as nurses in sickness. In this sense, we use press or impress indifferently.
6.
To seize; to take for public service; as, to impress provisions.

Definition 2024

impress

impress

English

Verb

impress ‎(third-person singular simple present impresses, present participle impressing, simple past and past participle impressed)

  1. (transitive) To affect (someone) strongly and often favourably.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess:
      Mr. Campion appeared suitably impressed and she warmed to him. He was very easy to talk to with those long clown lines in his pale face, a natural goon, born rather too early she suspected.
    You impressed me with your command of Urdu.‎
  2. (intransitive) To make an impression, to be impressive.
    • 2012 September 7, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, in BBC Sport:
      Manchester United's Tom Cleverley impressed on his first competitive start and Lampard demonstrated his continued worth at international level in a performance that was little more than a stroll once England swiftly exerted their obvious authority.
    Henderson impressed in his first game as captain.‎
  3. (transitive) To produce a vivid impression of (something).
    That first view of the Eiger impressed itself on my mind.‎
  4. (transitive) To mark or stamp (something) using pressure.
    We impressed our footprints in the wet cement.‎
    • Shakespeare
      his heart, like an agate, with your print impressed
  5. To produce (a mark, stamp, image, etc.); to imprint (a mark or figure upon something).
  6. (figuratively) To fix deeply in the mind; to present forcibly to the attention, etc.; to imprint; to inculcate.
    • I. Watts
      Impress the motives of persuasion upon our own hearts till we feel the force of them.
  7. (transitive) To compel (someone) to serve in a military force.
    The press gang used to impress people into the Navy.‎
  8. (transitive) To seize or confiscate (property) by force.
    The liner was impressed as a troop carrier.‎
    • Evelyn
      the second five thousand pounds impressed for the service of the sick and wounded prisoners

Pronunciation

  • (verb) enPR: ĭmprĕsʹ, IPA(key): /ɪmˈprɛs/
  • (noun) enPR: ĭmʹprĕs, IPA(key): /ˈɪmprɛs/
  • Rhymes: -ɛs

Synonyms

  • (transitive: affect strongly and often favourably): make an impression on
  • (intransitive: make an impression, be impressive): cut a figure
  • (produce a vivid impression of):
  • (mark or stamp (something) using pressure): imprint, print, stamp
  • (compel (someone) to serve in a military force):: pressgang
  • (seize or confiscate (property) by force):: confiscate, impound, seize, sequester

Translations

Noun

impress ‎(plural impresses)

  1. The act of impressing.
  2. An impression; an impressed image or copy of something.
    • Shakespeare
      This weak impress of love is as a figure / Trenched in ice.
    • 1908, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans, Norton 2005, p. 1330:
      We know that you were pressed for money, that you took an impress of the keys which your brother held […]
  3. A stamp or seal used to make an impression.
  4. An impression on the mind, imagination etc.
    • 2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories, Penguin 2009, p. 187:
      Such admonitions, in the English of the Authorized Version, left an indelible impress on imaginations nurtured on the Bible […]
  5. Characteristic; mark of distinction; stamp.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of South to this entry?)
  6. A heraldic device; an impresa.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Cussans to this entry?)
    • Milton
      To describe […] emblazoned shields, / Impresses quaint.
  7. The act of impressing, or taking by force for the public service; compulsion to serve; also, that which is impressed.
    • Shakespeare
      Why such impress of shipwrights?

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɪmpɹɛs/

Translations

Related terms

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English impressen, from Latin impressus, perfect passive participle of imprimere ‎(“to press into or upon, stick, stamp, or dig into”), from in ‎(“in, upon”) + premere ‎(“to press”).

Similar Results