imposition
Americannoun
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the laying on of something as a burden or obligation.
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something imposed, as a burden or duty; an unusual or extraordinarily burdensome requirement or task.
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the act of imposing by or as if by authority.
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an instance of imposing upon a person.
He did the favor but considered the request an imposition.
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the act of imposing fraudulently or deceptively on others; imposture.
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the ceremonial laying on of hands, as in confirmation or ordination.
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Printing. the arrangement of page plates in proper order on a press for printing a signature.
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the act of putting, placing, or laying on.
noun
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the act of imposing
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something that is imposed unfairly on someone
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(in Britain) a task set as a school punishment
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the arrangement of pages for printing so that the finished work will have its pages in the correct order
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing imposition
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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"Common Sense," Vocabulary from the pamphlet
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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:
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
But in yet another sign that finding a compromise may prove difficult, Ejei said "we certainly do not accept imposition", in a video shared by the judiciary's Mizan Online website.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
“Of course,” Bailey says, relieved that he is not an imposition.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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
Windsor officials said the town signed the agreement to “avoid further unfair and unjustified financial impositions placed upon the citizens of Windsor by the Office of the Attorney General.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
“We don’t want impositions on the Mercosur,” Lula said in a live broadcast on social media.
From Reuters ● Jul. 4, 2023
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
