impressive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impressive
Explanation
Something that is impressive stands out because it is really good. Some of the most impressive college application essays are those that reflect on past events that shaped who the writer is today. When you impress someone, you show that you are special or that what you did is praiseworthy. So something that's impressive does just that, like the impressive feat of running a marathon every week for a year. The earliest meaning of impressive was "capable of being easily impressed," from the Latin word impressus, "imprint or stamp." By around 1775, the meaning had changed to "making a strong impression on."
Vocabulary lists containing impressive
A Long Walk to Water
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Freak the Mighty
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The City of Ember
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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.
While impressive, the underwriter fees get split up across the banks and aren’t the real money-maker.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
The research team has already achieved a peak external quantum efficiency greater than 0.6% for their NIR-II LEDs, an impressive result for an early generation device.
From Science Daily • May 18, 2026
Servite also delivered an impressive performance in the 4x400 relay, shaving nearly three and a half seconds off the Division 3 record with a time of 3:11.05.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
Despite having a personally impressive season, Doku is reluctant to rest on his laurels and Guardiola's comments read like a challenge aimed to keep the winger on that path.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
It was a recap screen, smaller than the one in the recap review room, but still impressive.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
