impend

[ im-pend ]

/ ɪmˈpɛnd /

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See synonyms for: impend / impending on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to be imminent; be about to happen.

to threaten or menace: He felt that danger impended.

Archaic. to hang or be suspended; overhang (usually followed by over).

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Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of impend

First recorded in 1580–90, impend is from the Latin word impendēre to hang over, threaten. See im-¹, pend

OTHER WORDS FROM impend

su·per·im·pend, verb (used without object)

Words nearby impend

impedimenta, impedor, impel, impellent, impeller, impend, impendent, impending, impenetrability, impenetrable, impenitent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use impend in a sentence

Over the last few weeks, anytime I’ve asked media buyers what they’re focused on I’ve heard that the impending changes from Apple’s iOS 14 update are top of mind.
Marketing Briefing: As Apple and Google privacy updates near, marketers, media buyers see ‘adverse impact on advertisers’|Kristina Monllos|January 26, 2021|Digiday
The third-party cookie’s impending demise is one catalyst pushing publishers to prioritize their first-party data in programmatic ad sales, but advertiser demand has accelerated that push in 2020.
‘Table stakes’: Why publishers’ first-party data has become prerequisite to programmatic ad sales|Tim Peterson|December 7, 2020|Digiday
But, in this time of impending climate crisis, O’Rourke says that every little bit counts.
How to buy carbon offsets that actually make a difference|Ula Chrobak|December 3, 2020|Popular-Science
Despite a pandemic that’s shocked the entire economy and impending antitrust lawsuits, Big Tech is doing rather well.
As Covid-19 surges, the world’s biggest tech companies report staggering profits|Rani Molla|October 30, 2020|Vox

In mid-July, Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the impending fall and winter could be “one of the most difficult times that we have experienced in American public health.”
I Missed Bars. So I Built One in My Own Backyard.|Nick Heil|October 16, 2020|Outside Online
Fines and imprisonment impend over us, for exercising one of the holiest charities of our religion.
The Duty of Disobedience to the Fugitive Slave Act|Lydia Maria Child
At the distance of a mile they appeared to tower and almost impend over us.
Left on Labrador|Charles Asbury Stephens
Concealing his agitation, he began the routine of such familiar labors as impend on the eve of battle.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane
One speaks upon occasion, giving him warning when grave troubles impend.
The Woodlands Orchids|Frederick Boyle
The Kalmuck priest wears a leather coat, over the laps of which impend hundreds of strips, with leather tassels on the breast.
Some Heroes of Travel|W. H. Davenport Adams

British Dictionary definitions for impend

impend

/ (ɪmˈpɛnd) /

verb (intr)

(esp of something threatening) to be about to happen; be imminent

(foll by over) rare to be suspended; hang

Derived forms of impend

impendence or impendency, noun

Word Origin for impend

C16: from Latin impendēre to overhang, from pendēre to hang

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

impend

Origin of impend

OTHER WORDS FROM impend

Words nearby impend

Words related to impend

How to use impend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for impend

Derived forms of impend

Word Origin for impend