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.
Although those strikes seem tactically impressive, they have not helped him strategically, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Thinking it could be good to start a trust for their father, they attended a meeting at a hotel in Eastbourne where Wildish said there was an "impressive set up".
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Though “Jurassic Park” may be Neill’s most loved work, it’s far from his most impressive.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
The U.S. is experiencing an impressive stretch of low unemployment, which gives the labor market a rosy hue to outside observers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Her sneer wasn’t as bad as the one I got from Deputy Collins, but it was still pretty impressive.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
