impressionable
Americanadjective
-
easily impressed or influenced; susceptible.
an impressionable youngster.
- Synonyms:
- suggestible, responsive, receptive
-
capable of being impressed.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- impressionability noun
- impressionableness noun
- impressionably adverb
- nonimpressionability noun
- nonimpressionable adjective
- nonimpressionableness noun
- overimpressionability noun
- overimpressionable adjective
- overimpressionableness noun
- overimpressionably adverb
- unimpressionable adjective
Etymology
Origin of impressionable
1825–35; impression + -able; compare French impressionnable
Explanation
Someone who is impressionable is easily influenced. An impressionable person can be greatly changed by his or her experiences — not always in a good way. When someone makes an impression on you, you remember them and are influenced by them. Likewise, someone impressionable is very susceptible to being influenced, almost like a sponge that soaks up ideas. This word almost always applies to kids who are often referred to as “young and impressionable." If you call someone impressionable, it usually implies that they could be easily led astray.
Vocabulary lists containing impressionable
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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Catch-22
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"A Village After Dark" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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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.
But he carries the pathos of the impressionable idiot.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025
Schools and parents have a vital role to play in "helping children identify positive role models and resist the manipulation too often used online to groom impressionable young minds," she added.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2025
“My audience was so young and impressionable, they would buy everything associated with Bobby Sherman.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2025
But the outrage surrounding the Tates isn’t just about their influence on the minds of impressionable teenage boys.
From Slate • Feb. 28, 2025
Dread and distrust had already become a daily part of my being and my memory grew sharp, my senses more impressionable; I began to be aware of myself as a distinct personality striving against others.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
