impactful

American  

[im-pakt-fuhl] / ɪmˈpækt fəl /

adjective

1. having or manifesting a great impact or effect.

   After the senator's impactful speech, her bill passed.

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impactful British  

/ ˈɪmpæktfʊl /

adjective

1. having a powerful effect or making a strong impression

   a thoughtful and impactful display of contemporary art

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Usage

Impactful is one of those words that somehow arouse intense disdain, especially among editors and other would-be guardians of English. According to its critics, the word exemplifies “bad, ugly usage.” They call it “barbarous,” dismiss it as “a meaningless buzzword,” and hate it so much that they extend their contempt of the word to contempt for its users. Some justify their scorn by saying that the word lacks the original meaning of the suffix -ful —“full of”— as in remorseful or wrathful. But impactful, when it entered English in the mid-1960s, was formed and construed in the same way as other well-established adjectives ending in -ful. In fact, as the Oxford English Dictionary points out, the “full of” sense is considerably weakened in a large number of these -ful adjectives. Instead, the suffix is interpreted as “having” or “characterized by,” as in beautiful, lawful, or graceful. In other common adjectives, -ful can even be glossed as “causing feelings of,” as in wonderful and dreadful . Both of these senses of -ful work perfectly well with the noun impact. The aversion to impactful is reinforced by the distaste some people have for its root impact, especially when that word is used as a verb. (See usage note at impact ). But if impactful is indeed derived from the verb rather than the noun—which is not a certainty—there is nothing ungrammatical about that. When added to a verb, -ful has the meaning “apt to” or “able to,” as in mournful, wakeful, forgetful, and worshipful. Impactful may eventually settle into the language in similar fashion. In sum, impactful entered English as a normal part of language growth and change, and there is no legitimate linguistic reason to reject it. Although there are alternative words available, English welcomes synonymy. And although the negative reactions to impactful may well be further encouraged by a sense that it is commonly found in so-called business-speak or other jargon-filled contexts, in truth the word, from its beginnings, has also been recorded in reputable newspapers, magazines, academic journals, and books. Nevertheless, the very fact that so many people have passionate, unyielding objections to impactful makes it advisable to think twice before using it in contexts where it might not be accepted. Perhaps its variant impactive, with exactly the same meaning, is less likely to raise hackles. However, the “-ive” form appears in print only about one-fourth as often as the controversial impactful.

Etymology

Origin of impactful

First recorded in 1960-65; impact + -ful

Explanation

Something impactful is effective, or makes a strong impression, like an impactful movie that captures your attention and leaves you feeling deeply moved. Impactful gets a bad rap from a lot of grammar snobs, who consider it a made-up bit of marketing lingo. It's a real word, though, coined in the 1950s and originally used in the context of political and literary theory. Impactful is from the noun impact, "strong effect." To avoid annoying some grammarians, you can substitute words like "meaningful," "effective," or "powerful." Or just go ahead and say, "This was the most impactful summer of my life!"

Example Sentences

These are the Top 75 Most Impactful Television Moments,according to the academy.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2024

Impactful research addresses grand challenges, delivers technology and innovation to our communities in the state and beyond, and creates the next generation of highly sought-after innovators, designers and leaders.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 12, 2023

He is the principal investigator of the Mapping Impactful Media Literacy Practices initiative, a research project supported by the National Association for Media Literacy Education.

From Scientific American • Jan. 25, 2022

Impactful is needlessly confusing because those alternatives are more expressive and less contrived.

From Slate • Jun. 22, 2015

Asked to name the most beautiful prose he had read, he said, “A beautiful book? I don’t even know what that means. Impactful, sure.”

From The New Yorker • Dec. 29, 2014

Related Words

• impressive
• poignant
• stunning