impression has definitions from the fields of theater,dentistry,printing,writing
1
[ noun ] a vague idea in which some confidence is placed

Examples

"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"

Used in print

(Norman Kent, "The Watercolor Art of Roy M. Mason"...)

When painting , Mason 's physical eyes are half closed , while his mind's_eye is wide_open , and this circumstance accounts in part for the impression he wishes to convey .

(John F. Hayward, "Mimesis and Symbol in the Arts"...)

Our most elemental and unavoidable impressions , he says , are those of being involved in a large arena of powers which have a longer past than our own , which are interrelated in a vast movement through the present toward the future .

It takes a great_deal of abstraction to free oneself from the primitive impression of larger unities of power and influence and to view one 's world simply as a collection of sense_data arranged in such_and_such sequence and pattern , devoid_of all power to move the feelings and actions except in_so_far as they present themselves for inspection .

(William C. Smith, "Why Fear Ideas?"...)

Of_course , there must be clarity : a single distinct impression is more valuable than many fuzzy ones .

2
[ noun ] an outward appearance

Synonyms

effect

Examples

"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"

Used in print

(Richard I. McCosh, "Recreation Site Selection"...)

Usually there are more factors to good site planning than first impressions .

(Nathan Rapport, ""I've Been Here before!"...)

The senses in each counterpart bear the impression only of phenomena that share its own frequency , whereas those upon all other frequencies are invisible , inaudible and intactible to them .

Consciousness is the factor that provides the progressive continuity to sensory impressions .

(Robert L. Duncan, The Voice of Strangers....)

A good initial impression would be important now .

I want to create the impression of a compound full of children .

3
[ noun ] a clear and telling mental image

Examples

"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"

Related terms

image visualize

4
[ noun ] a concavity in a surface produced by pressing

Synonyms

imprint depression

Examples

"he left the impression of his fingers in the soft mud"

5
[ noun ] (dentistry) an imprint of the teeth and gums in wax or plaster

Examples

"the dentist made an impression for use in preparing an inlay"

Related terms

imprint dentistry

6
[ noun ] a symbol that is the result of printing

Synonyms

stamp

Examples

"he put his stamp on the envelope"

7
[ noun ] (printing,writing) all the copies of a work printed at one time

Synonyms

printing

Examples

"they ran off an initial printing of 2000 copies"

8
[ noun ] the act of pressing one thing on or into the surface of another

Examples

"he watched the impression of the seal on the hot wax"

Related terms

press impress

9
[ noun ] (theater) an impressionistic portrayal of a person

Examples

"he did a funny impression of a politician"

Related terms

portrayal

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