v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Impressed p. pr. & vb. n. Impressing. ] [ L. impressus, p. p. of imprimere to impress; pref. im- in, on + premere to press. See Press to squeeze, and cf. Imprint. ] 1. To press, stamp, or print something in or upon; to mark by pressure, or as by pressure; to imprint (that which bears the impression). [ 1913 Webster ]

His heart, like an agate, with your print impressed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To produce by pressure, as a mark, stamp, image, etc.; to imprint (a mark or figure upon something). [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Fig.: To fix deeply in the mind; to present forcibly to the attention, etc.; to imprint; to inculcate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Impress the motives of persuasion upon our own hearts till we feel the force of them. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. [ See Imprest, Impress, n., 5. ] To take by force for public service; as, to impress sailors or money. [ 1913 Webster ]

The second five thousand pounds impressed for the service of the sick and wounded prisoners. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Impresses 1. The act of impressing or making. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A mark made by pressure; an indentation; imprint; the image or figure of anything, formed by pressure or as if by pressure; result produced by pressure or influence. [ 1913 Webster ]

The impresses of the insides of these shells. Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

This weak impress of love is as a figure
Trenched in ice. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Characteristic; mark of distinction; stamp. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A device. See Impresa. Cussans. [ 1913 Webster ]

To describe . . . emblazoned shields,
Impresses quaint. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. [ See Imprest, Press to force into service. ] The act of impressing, or taking by force for the public service; compulsion to serve; also, that which is impressed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Why such impress of shipwrights? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Impress gang, a party of men, with an officer, employed to impress seamen for ships of war; a press gang. --
Impress money, a sum of money paid, immediately upon their entering service, to men who have been impressed. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To be impressed; to rest. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Such fiendly thoughts in his heart impress. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

pred. adj. having the conscious mind deeply or markedly affected or influenced; -- usually used with by or with. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The quality of being impressible; susceptibility. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. impressible. ] Capable of being impressed; susceptible; sensitive. -- Im*press"i*ble*ness, n. -- Im*press"i*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is impressed; stamp; mark; indentation; sensible result of an influence exerted from without. [ 1913 Webster ]

The stamp and clear impression of good sense. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

To shelter us from impressions of weather, we must spin, we must weave, we must build. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which impresses, or exercises an effect, action, or agency; appearance; phenomenon. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Portentous blaze of comets and impressions in the air. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

A fiery impression falling from out of Heaven. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Influence or effect on the senses or the intellect hence, interest, concern. Reid. [ 1913 Webster ]

His words impression left. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such terrible impression made the dream. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have a father's dear impression,
And wish, before I fall into my grave,
That I might see her married. Ford. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. An indistinct notion, remembrance, or belief. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Impressiveness; emphasis of delivery. [ 1913 Webster ]

Which must be read with an impression. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

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; as, a copy from the fifth impression. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ten impressions which his books have had. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. In painting, the first coat of color, as the priming in house painting and the like. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Engraving) A print on paper from a wood block, metal plate, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

Proof impression, one of the early impressions taken from an engraving, before the plate or block is worn. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being impressionable. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. impressionnable. ] Liable or subject to impression; capable of being molded; susceptible; impressible; as, a bad influence on impressionable youths. [ 1913 Webster ]

He was too impressionable; he had too much of the temperament of genius. Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

A pretty face and an impressionable disposition. T. Hook. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being impressionable. [ 1913 Webster ]