impressive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- impressively adverb
- impressiveness noun
- preimpressive adjective
- unimpressive adjective
- unimpressively adverb
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.
Orange Lutheran’s pitching depth was impressive all week.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
Luis Enrique's PSG are one of the most impressive sides in world football.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
The man’s curiosity and industriousness are equally impressive.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
What Abercrombie & Fitch has done under its current management team has been impressive, but it only gets harder to “comp the comp,” or exceed past results with time.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
I had to admit that Elliot’s quick thinking was pretty impressive, while I bumbled around, obviously clueless about what was going on or where exactly I was.
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.
