Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - impression

(impressions) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Your impression of a person or thing is what you think they are like, usually after having seen or heard them. Your impression of a situation is what you think is going on. What were your first impressions of college?... My impression is that they are totally out of control... N-COUNT: oft poss N, N of n, N that 2. If someone gives you a particular impression, they cause you to believe that something is the case, often when it is not. I don’t want to give the impression that I’m running away from the charges... N-SING: usu with supp, oft N that, N of n 3. An impression is an amusing imitation of someone’s behaviour or way of talking, usually someone well-known. He did impressions of Sean Connery and James Mason. = impersonation N-COUNT: oft N of n 4. An impression of an object is a mark or outline that it has left after being pressed hard onto a surface. ...the world’s oldest fossil impressions of plant life. N-COUNT 5. If someone or something makes an impression, they have a strong effect on people or a situation. The aid coming in has made no impression on the horrific death rates. PHRASE: V inflects 6. If you are under the impression that something is the case, you believe that it is the case, usually when it is not actually the case. He had apparently been under the impression that a military coup was in progress. PHRASE: v-link PHR, usu PHR that