Synonyms

impose

American

[im-pohz] / ɪmˈpoʊz /

verb (used with object)

to lay on or set as something to be borne, endured, obeyed, fulfilled, paid, etc..

to impose taxes.
to put or set by or as if by authority.

to impose one's personal preference on others.
to obtrude or thrust (oneself, one's company, etc.) upon others.

Synonyms:

foist, force
to pass or palm off fraudulently or deceptively.

He imposed his pretentious books on the public.
Printing. to lay (type pages, plates, etc.) in proper order on an imposing stone or the like and secure in a chase for printing.
to lay on or inflict, as a penalty.
Archaic. to put or place on something, or in a particular place.
Obsolete. to lay on (the hands) ceremonially, as in confirmation or ordination.

verb (used without object)

to make an impression on the mind; impose one's or its authority or influence.
to obtrude oneself or one's requirements, as upon others.

Are you sure my request doesn't impose?
to presume, as upon patience or good nature.

verb phrase

impose on / upon
1. to thrust oneself offensively upon others; intrude.
2. to take unfair advantage of; misuse (influence, friendship, etc.).
3. to defraud; cheat; deceive.
  
  A study recently showed the shocking number of confidence men that impose on the public.

impose British

/ ɪmˈpəʊz /

verb

(tr) to establish as something to be obeyed or complied with; enforce

to impose a tax on the people
to force (oneself, one's presence, etc) on another or others; obtrude
(intr) to take advantage, as of a person or quality

to impose on someone's kindness
(tr) printing to arrange pages so that after printing and folding the pages will be in the correct order
(tr) to pass off deceptively; foist

to impose a hoax on someone
(tr) (of a bishop or priest) to lay (the hands) on the head of a candidate for certain sacraments

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of impose

First recorded in 1475–85; late Middle English, from Middle French imposer, equivalent to im- im- ¹ + poser “to stop, cease”; pose ¹; pose ²

Explanation

To impose means to force or inflict something on someone else. If you want to impose your musical taste on your parents, play your tunes all day at top volume. The verb impose emerged in the 1580s, meaning "to lay on as a burden," which is very similar to the modern meaning. Governments often impose taxes, legal restrictions, and other burdensome things on citizens, for example. But you should remember what Confucius once wisely said: "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire."

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Vocabulary lists containing impose

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

impose imposes imposed imposing

For example, if the government decided to impose a tax on stock sales and dedicate a portion of estate-tax revenues toward Social Security, a given person might not be affected by both those measures.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

A lot of these goods are coming to Indian shores because it is rapidly expanding manufacturing across segments of the economy, but also as "Western markets impose tariffs and other restrictions", says Srivastava.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Called the Retirement and Personal Savings Protection Act, it would limit the state’s ability to impose certain new taxes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The country’s legislature recently expanded anti-money-laundering laws to impose stricter due diligence requirements and push companies to collect more information on their controlling ownership, among other measures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

I couldn’t impose on them anymore than I already had, or risk ruining them with the invisible fingers that seemed bent on tearing apart every single connection I managed to make.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

He sets his own relationship with the business world, and nobody imposes anything on him.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

What slows, how it slows and who imposes the limit will determine who ultimately pays.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

I appreciated the restraint that the cast imposes on itself without spoiling the fun.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that imposes a 15% tariff on imported products made from polysilicon, a crucial material used in semiconductors and solar panels.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

It is true that the state imposes a license fee, but that fee does not come to the counties or the towns except for road maintenance and extension.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

The court heard on Friday that a £100,000 bail condition, imposed earlier in October, had not yet been met.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Since then, the university has investigated the “Cornell Seven”—the seven frat brothers directly involved—and imposed discipline ranging from expulsion to compulsory essay writing.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

The audio recordings, shared by mariners in the region, illustrate how the blockade has been imposed and bring to life the experiences of civilian seafarers navigating the unprecedented geopolitical tension in the Middle East.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

In practice, the order will defer payment of the Federal excise tax imposed on the fuel for the rest for the year, without penalties or interest.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

His own, not those imposed on him by other people, such as the faculty of the Devon School.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

Clearly the public can consume both slop and quality entertainment in ever vaster amounts while imposing cost pressures on those who make it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Russian authorities denied Tuesday that they were imposing anti-plague measures after a laboratory technician reportedly died of the disease, and reacted to Washington's offer of assistance by proposing to help battle US infectious diseases.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

Portions of the river similarly dried up in 2021, 2022 and 2023, even after the state started imposing limits on how much water farmers could take.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

‘We would be imposing benefit reductions on a population that is already experiencing rising poverty.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

Each day the wall grew, and by evening it was bigger and more imposing than it had been before.

From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023