Hypertext Webster Gateway: "impression"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Impression \Im*pres"sion\, n. [F. impression, L. impressio.]
1. The act of impressing, or the state of being impressed;
the communication of a stamp, mold, style, or character,
by external force or by influence.

2. That which is impressed; stamp; mark; indentation;
sensible result of an influence exerted from without.

The stamp and clear impression of good sense.
--Cowper.

To shelter us from impressions of weather, we must
spin, we must weave, we must build. --Barrow.

3. That which impresses, or exercises an effect, action, or
agency; appearance; phenomenon. [Obs.]

Portentous blaze of comets and impressions in the
air. --Milton.

A fiery impression falling from out of Heaven.
--Holland.

4. Influence or effect on the senses or the intellect hence,
interest, concern. --Reid.

His words impression left. --Milton.

Such terrible impression made the dream. --Shak.

I have a father's dear impression, And wish, before
I fall into my grave, That I might see her married.
--Ford.

5. An indistinct notion, remembrance, or belief.

6. Impressiveness; emphasis of delivery.

Which must be read with an impression. --Milton.

7. (Print.) The pressure of the type on the paper, or the
result of such pressure, as regards its appearance; as, a
heavy impression; a clear, or a poor, impression; also, a
single copy as the result of printing, or the whole
edition printed at a given time.

Ten impressions which his books have had. --Dryden.

8. In painting, the first coat of color, as the priming in
house painting and the like. [R.]

9. (Engraving) A print on paper from a wood block, metal
plate, or the like.

{Proof impression}, one of the early impressions taken from
an engraving, before the plate or block is worn.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

impression
n 1: a vague idea in which some confidence is placed; "his
impression of her was favorable"; "what are your
feelings about the crisis?"; "it strengthened my belief
in his sincerity"; "I had a feeling that she was lying"
[syn: {feeling}, {belief}, {notion}, {opinion}]
2: an outward appearance; "he made a good impression"; "I
wanted to create an impression of success"; "she retained
that bold effect in her reproductions of the original
painting" [syn: {effect}]
3: a clear and telling mental image; "he described his mental
picture of his assailant"; "he had no clear picture of
himself or his world"; "the events left a permanent
impression in his mind" [syn: {mental picture}, {picture}]
4: a concavity in a surface produced by pressing; "he left the
impression of his fingers in the soft mud" [syn: {depression},
{imprint}]
5: a symbol that is the result of printing; "he put his stamp
on the envelope" [syn: {stamp}]
6: all the copies of a work printed at one time; "they ran off
an initial printing of 2000 copies" [syn: {printing}]
7: (dentistry) an imprint of the teeth and gums in wax or
plaster; "the dentist made an impression for use in
preparing an inlay"
8: an impressionistic portrayal of a person; "he did a funny
impression of a politician"
9: the act of pressing one thing on or into the surface of
another; "he watched the impression of the seal on the hot
wax"


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