impress

Everyday

1. To impress someone is to make them admire you or feel strongly that something is very good. tree →
2. To impress something on someone is to make them understand clearly how important it is. tree →
3. To impress a mark or pattern is to press it into something soft. tree →
4. (history) To impress men was to force them to serve in the navy. tree →
5. If someone is impressed by an argument or reason, it has persuaded or moved them to agree or change their mind. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life children try to impress friends, teachers or judges; in stories a character impresses the king with a clever answer. Parents impress on children the importance of road safety. Phrases: «be impressed by», «impress on», «try to impress», «make an impression».

Examples

• She impressed the judges with her singing. tree →
• I was really impressed by your story. tree →
• He tried to impress his friends by doing a wheelie. tree →
• Mum impressed on us that we must never talk to strangers online. tree →
• We impressed leaves into the clay to make patterns. tree →
• The new pupil's maths impressed the whole class. tree →
• In old times, sailors were impressed into the navy. tree →
• The King, impressed by these considerations, promised that he would think over the matter. tree →

Note

Regular verb: impressed, impressing. Nouns: «impression», «impressiveness»; adjective «impressive». «Impressed by» or «impressed with» both work. Trap: trying too hard to impress can make you look silly.

In Jewish tradition

In the Sefer Yetzirah it means to stamp or engrave, as the letters are said to be formed by voice and breath.

Interpretation. Tradition teaches that God made the world with the twenty-two Hebrew letters, which are "engraved" and "carved" like a seal into reality.

Examples

• And this is the impress of the whole, twenty-one letters, all from one the Aleph. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
• Twenty-two letters are formed by the voice, impressed on the air, and audibly uttered in five situations, in the throat, guttural sounds; in the palate, palatals; by the tongue, linguals; through the teeth, dentals; and by the lips, labial sounds. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →

Note

Regular verb: impressed, impressing. Nouns: «impression», «impressiveness»; adjective «impressive». «Impressed by» or «impressed with» both work. Trap: trying too hard to impress can make you look silly.