# impedance

> English word · Noun · IPA [ɪmˈpiːdn̩s] · frequency rank #23,867

## Definitions
1. The act of impeding; that which impedes; a hindrance.
2. A measure of the opposition to the flow of an alternating current in a circuit; the aggregation of its resistance, and inductive and capacitive reactances; the ratio of voltage to current treated as complex quantities.
3. A quantity analogous to electrical impedance in some other energy domain
4. A quantity analogous to electrical impedance in some other energy domain

## Etymology
From impede + -ance. In sense 2 and sense 3 it was coined by English mathematician and physicist Oliver Heaviside in 1886.

## Common misspellings (14)
`imepdance`, `immpedance`, `impdeance`, `impeadnce`, `impedacne`, `impedancce`, `impedanec`, `impedannce`, `impeddance`, `impedence`, `impednace`, `imppedance`, `ipmedance`, `mipedance`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/impedance