impact

noun

The striking of one body against another; collision.

The force or energy of a collision of two objects.

(chiefly medicine) A forced impinging.

(figurative, proscribed) A significant or strong influence or effect.

verb

(transitive) To collide or strike, the act of impinging.

(transitive) To compress; to compact; to press into something or pack together.

(transitive, figurative, proscribed) To significantly or strongly influence or affect; to have an impact on.

(transitive, rare) To stamp or impress onto something.

Roots

pango-pact · Latin · fasten, fix

Synonyms for impact

affectv impingementn shockn effectn wallopn influencen consequencesn collisionn bruntn crashn backlashn

Synonyms & related words for impact

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of impact — including affect, impingement, shock, effect, wallop, influence. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to impact

Explore words related to impact — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include repercussions, brisance, adversely, impinging, negatively, aftereffect, deleteriously, detriment. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for impact

Common synonyms for impact include affect, impingement, shock, effect, wallop, influence, consequences, collision — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does impact come from?

The word impact breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -pact, from Latin pango (“fasten, fix”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.