Etymology

From Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#IMPRESSION impression, from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#IMPRESSION impressio. Equivalent to impress +‎ -ionCategory:English terms suffixed with -ion#IMPRESSION.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/Category:English 3-syllable words#IMPRESSIONCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#IMPRESSION
• Rhymes: -ɛʃənCategory:Rhymes:English/ɛʃən#IMPRESSIONCategory:Rhymes:English/ɛʃən/3 syllables#IMPRESSION

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#IMPRESSION

Noun

impression (countable and uncountable, plural impressions)Category:English lemmas#IMPRESSIONCategory:English nouns#IMPRESSIONCategory:English uncountable nouns#IMPRESSIONCategory:English countable nouns#IMPRESSIONCategory:English countable nouns#IMPRESSIONCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#IMPRESSIONCategory:Pages with entries#IMPRESSIONCategory:Pages with 2 entries#IMPRESSION

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

   His head made an impression on the pillow.Category:English terms with usage examples#IMPRESSION

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

   Synonym: take

   He tried to make a good impression on his parents.Category:English terms with usage examples#IMPRESSION

   • 1805, Henry Kett, “Conclusion”, in Elements of General Knowledge, Introductory to Useful Books in the Principal Branches of Literature and Science. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: […] [T]he Press of H. Maxwell, for F. Nichols, […], and J. A. Cummings, […], pages 387–388:

     Their empires, triumphs, conquests, and projects, have left little impression behind them, notwithstanding the attention they once attracted, and the violent convulsions which they caused in the state of the world.

     Category:English terms with quotations#IMPRESSION

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.

     Category:English terms with quotations#IMPRESSION

   • 2008 June 1, A. Dirk Moses, “Preface”, in Empire, Colony, Genocide: Conquest, Occupation, and Subaltern Resistance in World History, Berghahn Books, →ISBN, page x:

     Though most of the cases here cover European encounters with non-Europeans, it is not the intention of the book to give the impression that genocide is a function of European colonialism and imperialism alone.

     Category:English terms with quotations#IMPRESSION

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

   I have the impression that he's already left for Paris.Category:English terms with usage examples#IMPRESSION

4. An impersonation, an imitation of the mannerisms of another individual.
5. An outward appearance.
6. (InternetCategory:en:Internet#IMPRESSION) A performance metric representing an instance where a post or ad is shown once.
   • 2010, Dusty Reagan, Twitter Application Development For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 329:

     Publishers are paid for each ad impression their site generates.

     Category:English terms with quotations#IMPRESSION

7. (paintingCategory:en:Painting#IMPRESSION) The first coat of colour, such as the priming in house-painting etc.
8. (engraving) A print on paper from a wood block, metal plate, etc.
9. (philosophyCategory:en:Philosophy#IMPRESSION) The vivid perception of something as it is experienced, in contrast to ideas or thoughts drawn from memory or the imagination.
   • 1748, David Hume, “Of the Origin of Ideas”, in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding:

     Let us, therefore, use a little freedom, and call them Impressions; employing that word in a sense somewhat different from the usual. By the term impression, then, I mean all our more lively perceptions, when we hear, or see, or feel, or love, or hate, or desire, or will. And impressions are distinguished from ideas, which are the less lively perceptions, of which we are conscious, when we reflect on any of those sensations or movements above mentioned.

     Category:English terms with quotations#IMPRESSION

10. (printingCategory:en:Printing#IMPRESSION) set of copies of a publication printed at one time having the same content, layout, pagination, etc.

Verb

impression (third-person singular simple present impressions, present participle impressioning, simple past and past participle impressioned)Category:English lemmas#IMPRESSIONCategory:English verbs#IMPRESSIONCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#IMPRESSIONCategory:Pages with entries#IMPRESSIONCategory:Pages with 2 entries#IMPRESSION

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.
   • 2007, Graham Pulford, High-Security Mechanical Locks: An Encyclopedic Reference, page 55:

     The trick in impressioning a key is to remove only a small amount of the blank, by filing or cutting, from the pin positions where impressions have been left.

     Category:English terms with quotations#IMPRESSION

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned

Anagrams

• permission

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:French terms borrowed from Latin#IMPRESSIONCategory:French terms derived from Latin#IMPRESSION impressiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pʁɛ.sjɔ̃/ ~ /ɛ̃.pʁe.sjɔ̃/Category:French 3-syllable words#IMPRESSIONCategory:French 3-syllable words#IMPRESSIONCategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#IMPRESSION

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#IMPRESSION

Noun

impression f (plural impressions)Category:French lemmas#IMPRESSIONCategory:French nouns#IMPRESSIONCategory:French countable nouns#IMPRESSIONCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#IMPRESSIONCategory:French feminine nouns#IMPRESSIONCategory:Pages with entries#IMPRESSIONCategory:Pages with 2 entries#IMPRESSION

1. an impression, the overall effect of something
2. the indentation or depression made by the pressure of one object on another
3. a print, print-out

Further reading

• “impression”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• méprisions