imposition

American  

[im-puh-zish-uhn] / ˌɪm pəˈzɪʃ ən /

noun

impositions plural

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.

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

4. an instance of imposing upon a person.

   He did the favor but considered the request an imposition.

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

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

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

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

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imposition British  

/ ˌɪmpəˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of imposing

2. something that is imposed unfairly on someone

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

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonimposition
  noun
• preimposition
  noun
• reimposition
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• impositions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of imposition

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

Explanation

Imposition means you force something — usually an unwanted burden — on someone else. If your friends invite themselves over for dinner the night before your big test, that's an imposition because you'll have to cook instead of studying. Imposition comes from the 14th century Old French word of the same spelling, meaning "the levying of taxes, a tax, duty." Taxes are a good way to remember the meaning of imposition. You never want to pay taxes — but you have no choice but to pay. It can be the same for other kinds of burdens: if something is an imposition, you don't want to do it, but you likely will have to.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

imposition impositions

The one great exception to that rule—the abolition of racial discrimination in 1964-65—involved the dismantling of state power more than its imposition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

“The ballroom is literally an imposition between two branches of our government,” the architect David Scott Parker, who’s on the board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, fretted to the Times.

From Slate ● May 18, 2026

In the nine months following the April 2025 imposition of reciprocal tariffs, Chinese exports to the United States declined by an estimated $109 billion against the 2022-24 baseline.

From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026

The appeals court also upheld his conviction for abuse of power for excluding cabinet members from a meeting to plan the imposition of martial law.

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

She apologizes for any imposition, since she and Marie Dachauer are strangers.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The film is lightning in a bottle, magic that only stands to have its smoke dispersed and mirrors cracked by the unnecessary impositions of the dreaded Hollywood sequel.

From Salon ● May 1, 2026

That heritage gave both him and the backcountry settlers he epitomized their combative sense of equality and dignity—rooted in the history of British impositions on their ancestral lands in Ulster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

“We don’t want impositions on the Mercosur,” Lula said in a live broadcast on social media.

From Reuters ● Jul. 4, 2023

It is time to protect everyone, including the fools, from their own foolish behavior, and put an end to the impositions.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2021

Even the most ardent anticommunists among them regarded the oath as an uncomfortable reminder of the impositions on academic freedom they had suffered in their homelands.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• intrusion