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definitions

impale

[im-peyl]
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verb (used with object), im·paled, im·pal·ing.

to fasten, stick, or fix upon a sharpened stake or the like.
to pierce with a sharpened stake thrust up through the body, as for torture or punishment.
to fix upon, or pierce through with, anything pointed.
to make helpless as if pierced through.
Archaic. to enclose with or as if with pales or stakes; fence in; hem in.
Heraldry.
  1. to marshal (two coats of arms, as the family arms of a husband and wife) on an escutcheon party per pale.
  2. (of a coat of arms) to be combined with (another coat of arms) in this way.

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RELATED WORDS

persecution, suffering, torment, misery, laceration, distress, martyrdom, agony, dolor, twinge, pang, affliction, ache, crucifixion, anguish, rack, tribulation, excruciation, hit, hanging

Nearby words

  1. impactive,
  2. impair,
  3. impaired,
  4. impairment,
  5. impala,
  6. impalement,
  7. impalpable,
  8. impanate,
  9. impanation,
  10. impanel
Also empale (for defs 1–5).

Origin of impale

1545–55; < Medieval Latin impālāre, equivalent to Latin im- im-1 + pāl(us) pale2 + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive ending
Related formsim·pal·er, nounim·pale·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for impalement

British Dictionary definitions for impalement

impale

empale

verb (tr)

(often foll by on, upon, or with) to pierce with a sharp instrumentthey impaled his severed head on a spear
archaic to enclose with pales or fencing; fence in
heraldry to charge (a shield) with two coats of arms placed side by side
Derived Formsimpalement or empalement, nounimpaler or empaler, noun

Word Origin for impale

C16: from Medieval Latin impālāre, from Latin im- (in) + pālus pale ²
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
Word Origin and History for impalement
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper