impression Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
    feeling; belief; opinion; notion.
    • his impression of her was favorable
    • what are your feelings about the crisis?
    • it strengthened my belief in his sincerity
    • I had a feeling that she was lying
  2. noun an outward appearance
    effect.
    • he made a good impression
    • I wanted to create an impression of success
    • she retained that bold effect in her reproductions of the original painting
  3. noun a clear and telling mental image
    picture; mental picture.
    • he described his mental picture of his assailant
    • he had no clear picture of himself or his world
    • the events left a permanent impression in his mind
  4. noun a concavity in a surface produced by pressing
    imprint; depression.
    • he left the impression of his fingers in the soft mud
  5. noun a symbol that is the result of printing or engraving
    stamp.
    • he put his stamp on the envelope
  6. noun all the copies of a work printed at one time
    printing.
    • they ran off an initial printing of 2000 copies
  7. noun (dentistry) an imprint of the teeth and gums in wax or plaster
    • the dentist took an impression for use in preparing an inlay
  8. noun an impressionistic portrayal of a person
    • he did a funny impression of a politician
  9. noun the act of pressing one thing on or into the surface of another
    • he watched the impression of the seal on the hot wax

WordNet

Im*pres"sion noun
Etymology
F. impression, L. impressio.
Definitions
  1. The act of impressing, or the state of being impressed; the communication of a stamp, mold, style, or character, by external force or by influence.
  2. That which is impressed; stamp; mark; indentation; sensible result of an influence exerted from without.
    The stamp and clear impression of good sense. Cowper.
    To shelter us from impressions of weather, we must spin, we must weave, we must build. Barrow.
  3. That which impresses, or exercises an effect, action, or agency; appearance; phenomenon. Obs.
    Portentous blaze of comets and impressions in the air. Milton.
    A fiery impression falling from out of Heaven. Holland.
  4. Influence or effect on the senses or the intellect hence, interest, concern. Reid.
    His words impression left. Milton.
    Such terrible impression made the dream. Shak.
    I have a father's dear impression, And wish, before I fall into my grave, That I might see her married. Ford.
  5. An indistinct notion, remembrance, or belief.
  6. Impressiveness; emphasis of delivery.
    Which must be read with an impression. Milton.
  7. (Print.) The pressure of the type on the paper, or the result of such pressure, as regards its appearance; as, a heavy impression; a clear, or a poor, impression; also, a single copy as the result of printing, or the whole edition printed at a given time.
    Ten impressions which his books have had. Dryden.
  8. In painting, the first coat of color, as the priming in house painting and the like. R.
  9. (Engraving) A print on paper from a wood block, metal plate, or the like.

Webster 1913