overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

impress.

To affect (someone) strongly and often favourably; to inspire admiration from (someone).

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ɪmˈpɹɛs/
  1. To affect (someone) strongly and often favourably; to inspire admiration from (someone).

    transitive
    You impressed me with your command of Urdu.
  2. To affect (someone) strongly and often favourably; to inspire admiration from (someone). To make an impression; to be impressive; to arouse interest or favor.

    intransitive · transitive
    Henderson impressed in his first game as captain.
  3. To mark or stamp (something) using pressure; to apply (something) using pressure.

    transitive
    We impressed our footprints in the wet cement.
    Then he impresses the die into the clay to produce a design on the surface.
  4. To mark or stamp (something) using pressure; to apply (something) using pressure. To produce (a mark, stamp, image, etc.); to imprint (a mark or figure upon something).

    transitive
    He impressed his signature into the wax.
  5. To mark or stamp (something) using pressure; to apply (something) using pressure. To produce a vivid impression of (something); to convince someone of one's nature.

    figuratively · intransitive · reflexive · transitive
    That first view of the Eiger impressed itself on my mind.
    I will impress the schedule upon her.
  6. To mark or stamp (something) using pressure; to apply (something) using pressure. To fix deeply in the mind; to present forcibly to the attention, etc.; to cause someone to understand and accept something.

    figuratively · transitive
    You have to impress the new vocabulary into your mind.
    She is impressing the rules onto the students.
  7. To transfer or transmit.

    transitive
    The money was impressed into the hands of the financial ministry.
    His actions impress a message of selfishness to us all.
  8. To transfer or transmit. To transfer voltage onto metalwork through induced or capacitative processes.

    figuratively · transitive
    This process will impress voltage into the metal.
  9. To compel (someone) to serve in a military force.

    transitive
    The press gang used to impress people into the Navy.
  10. To compel (someone) to serve in a military force. To seize or confiscate (property) by force, especially for military use.

    historical · transitive
    The liner was impressed as a troop carrier.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Proto-Indo-European *per-? Proto-Indo-European *pres-der. Proto-Italic *pres- Latin premō Latin imprimō Latin impressusder. Middle English impressen English impress 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”).

noun/ˈɪmpɹɛs/
  1. The act of impressing.

  2. An impression; an impressed image or copy of something.

  3. A stamp or seal used to make an impression.

  4. An impression on the mind, imagination etc.

  5. Characteristic; mark of distinction; stamp.

  6. A heraldic device; an impresa.

  7. The act of impressing, or taking by force for the public service; compulsion to serve; also, that which is impressed.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Proto-Indo-European *per-? Proto-Indo-European *pres-der. Proto-Italic *pres- Latin premō Latin imprimō Latin impressusder. Middle English impressen English impress 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”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

impress has 7 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

impress studioimpress workshello, impress

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.