impress
im·press/ɪmˈpɹɛs/verb, noun
impress is spelled I-M-P-R-E-S-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables (im·press). It appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, impress means “To affect (someone) strongly and often favourably; to inspire admiration from (someone)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in impress?
| Letters | 7: I-M-P-R-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: im·press |
| In writing | 8.5 times per million words; the 7,910th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is impress?
Impress appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce impress?
- /ɪmˈpɹɛs/
As a noun (“The act of impressing”): /ˈɪmpɹɛs/.
Impress has 2 syllables, split im·press in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-impress-v.ogg, En-us-impress-n.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of impress
- impresses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- impressing participle, present
- impressed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does impress mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To affect (someone) strongly and often favourably; to inspire admiration from (someone).
You impressed me with your command of Urdu.
- 2
To make an impression; to be impressive; to arouse interest or favor.
Henderson impressed in his first game as captain.
- 3
To mark or stamp (something) using pressure; to apply (something) using pressure.
We impressed our footprints in the wet cement.
- 4
To produce (a mark, stamp, image, etc.); to imprint (a mark or figure upon something).
He impressed his signature into the wax.
- 5
To produce a vivid impression of (something); to convince someone of one's nature.
That first view of the Eiger impressed itself on my mind.
- 6
To fix deeply in the mind; to present forcibly to the attention, etc.; to cause someone to understand and accept something.
You have to impress the new vocabulary into your mind.
- 7
To transfer or transmit.
The money was impressed into the hands of the financial ministry.
- 8
To transfer voltage onto metalwork through induced or capacitative processes.
This process will impress voltage into the metal.
noun
- 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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Impress in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impressionner |
| German | beeindrucken , prägen |
| Portuguese | impressionar , imprimir |
| Spanish | impresionar , impresión |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does impress come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).