imposition

[ im-puh-zish-uhn ]
See synonyms for imposition on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the laying on of something as a burden or obligation.

  2. something imposed, as a burden or duty; an unusual or extraordinarily burdensome requirement or task.

  1. the act of imposing by or as if by authority.

  2. an instance of imposing upon a person: He did the favor but considered the request an imposition.

  3. the act of imposing fraudulently or deceptively on others; imposture.

  4. the ceremonial laying on of hands, as in confirmation or ordination.

  5. Printing. the arrangement of page plates in proper order on a press for printing a signature.

  6. the act of putting, placing, or laying on.

Origin of imposition

1
1325–75; Middle English imposicioun<Late Latin impositiōn- (stem of impositiō), equivalent to imposit(us) past participle of impōnere to place upon, impose (im-im-1 + posi-, variant stem of pōnere to put + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn--ion

Other words from imposition

  • non·im·po·si·tion, noun
  • pre·im·po·si·tion, noun
  • re·im·po·si·tion, noun

Words Nearby imposition

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use imposition in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for imposition

imposition

/ (ˌɪmpəˈzɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act of imposing

  2. something that is imposed unfairly on someone

  1. (in Britain) a task set as a school punishment

  2. the arrangement of pages for printing so that the finished work will have its pages in the correct order

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012