What does impress mean?
“Impress” means to make someone feel admiration, respect, or surprise, often because of a person's talent, achievement, appearance, or conduct. Its usual pattern is “impress someone with something”: a musician may impress an audience with her performance, while a speaker may impress listeners with a carefully researched argument. The word can also mean to make a strong impression on the mind or, in a more formal use, to make an idea or importance deeply felt by someone: “impress upon them the need for caution.” The verb is common in both formal and informal English, although “I was impressed” often carries a genuinely positive evaluation rather than merely noting that someone seemed noteworthy. Historically associated with pressing a mark into a surface, “impress” has developed into a word for making an effect on people through qualities that command attention or respect.
verbTo cause someone to feel admiration or to believe that you are unusually talented, impressive, or noteworthy. It can also mean to make a strong or lasting impression on someone's mind.
- To cause someone to feel admiration, often because of someone's ability, achievement, appearance, or manner.
- To make a strong or lasting impression on someone's mind.
- To make someone understand or accept something deeply, especially in the formal construction “impress something on someone.”
"Her command of the subject impressed everyone at the conference."
"The young violinist impressed the judges with her composure and technical command."
"The campaign sought to impress upon voters the importance of protecting local habitats."
"I was impressed by how quickly she learned the new system."
To impress is to leave a mark—not literally, but on the minds of those who witness your talent, words, or deeds.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does impress come from?
“Impress” comes through Latin from imprimere, meaning “to press into” or “to imprint,” a compound of in- and premere, “to press.” Its early English uses referred to making a mark by pressing, and the sense of making an impression on the mind developed from that physical idea. The same Latin root underlies cognates and related words such as “imprint,” “compression,” and “depression,” while “express” also derives from a Latin verb built on premere.
Related word forms
How impress is actually used
“Impress” is usually transitive and commonly appears in the pattern “impress someone with something.” The phrase “impress something on someone” is more formal and less common.
Easily confused with impress
“Impress” is a verb meaning to affect someone with admiration, whereas “impression” is a noun meaning the effect or idea left on someone's mind.