impress
Definitions
To make someone feel admiration or respect
给…留下深刻印象；使钦佩
To press a mark or design into a surface; to fix firmly in the mind
压印（图案）；使铭记
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedim- (in) + press = 'press in.' Picture a seal pressed into hot wax, leaving a clean mark. An experience or person that 'presses into' your mind the same way leaves a strong mark — so to impress someone is to leave a strong (usually good) impression on them.
Root press still carries 89 more wordsWhy It Means This
The favorable meaning ('wow them') is a metaphor from the literal one ('stamp a mark'). Because a seal leaves a mark only on a surface soft enough to take it, the same logic names a person who is easily marked — impressionable: soft enough to take whatever impression is pressed in.
Common Collocations
- 1.impress someone with用…打动某人
- 2.deeply impress深深打动
- 3.fail to impress未能打动
- 4.out to impress一心想给人留下好印象
Example Sentences
- 1.
She impressed the interviewers with her calm, clear answers.
- 2.
I was genuinely impressed by how quickly he learned.
- 3.
The design is clever, but it didn't impress the judges.
- 4.
The seal impressed a neat crest into the warm wax.
Easily Confused
impress vs influence — to impress is to make someone admire you (you impressed the judges); to influence is to change how they think or act (his ideas influenced me). You can impress someone without changing them, and influence them without impressing them.