The word “impresses”: what does it mean and how do we use it?

Many words of foreign origin are firmly included in our everyday life. We often flaunt them right and left, not always thinking about the strict meaning of their use, as well as the corresponding meaning. Therefore, it is advisable to know the history of origin, as well as the context of each such word, so as not to be misled, especially in public or in public speaking. Take, for example, the word "impressed." What does it mean? Let's try to figure it out.

Dictionary meaning of the term

If we talk about the semantics of this word, then the explanatory folios, which contain the meaning of most of the expressions used in the Russian language, first of all tell us that we are talking about some kind of positive impression made by any subjects or situations. What does it mean to “impress”? Like, attract, inspire respect or disposition, evoke pleasant feelings and associations, as well as sympathy. Therefore, the antonym to this word can be considered such words as "arouse disgust" or "repel".

Origin

“Impressive” ... What is this word and where did it appear in Russian? There are many points of view on this subject. For example, some scholars believe that the progenitor of this term can be found in the pre-Indo-European dialects under the guise of “pos-in-ere”. As for ancient languages, this word exists in Latin, but it sounds like imponere. It can be translated as “invest”, as well as “impose” and “inspire”. And it came to us through the German language, where its meaning was very close to that which we know now. There it looks like imponieren. Perhaps some influence on the modern meaning of the word in Russian was made by his French brother. There, “impressing” has a special meaning: to amaze, to suppress with one’s greatness, even to dominate morally.

Clear use context

Despite the fact that this word has many synonyms, it should be used for its intended purpose and only in certain cases suitable for this. When exactly do we say the word “impresses”? What are these situations? First of all, you need to look at the context and grammar and syntactic load. For example, despite the similarity of meanings, one cannot mutually replace the word “impressed” with “sympathizes”. First of all, because if someone likes you, then the last word is suitable for characterizing such a situation. That is, "he sympathizes with me." If someone attracts you, then you should already say this: "he impresses me." We can say that the main thing in this case is who exactly has positive feelings for whom. Thus, there is an inversion - to “impress” the meaning is to “sympathize with the other way around”. This does not change the meaning as a whole, but correctly emphasizes.

Difference of meanings

Since this word is of Latin-French-German origin, it is more capacious than its Russian synonyms. “Impressive” - what else can it mean? If we compare it, as above, with the word “sympathizes”, then it has a wider range of meanings. We can say that the “volume” of the described feelings in the term “impress” is greater. It is not only to attract and like, but also to inspire respect, trust, inspire authority and reverence. That is, this word implies not only external, but also internal positive characteristics of the subject to which you are located. Therefore, one can say so about some phenomenon. For example: "This theory impresses me with its depth, logic and persuasiveness." Or, such a statement is permissible about a political party and even a religious denomination. For the same reason, this can be said not only about a person, but also about his individual qualities - his mind, personality traits and more.

Differences in areas of use

Fans of Russian literature are still arguing about where exactly the word “impress” is more appropriate. Some believe that the most organic use of it is in official speech, with a business style of communication, in journalism, journalism, in scientific discourse, and so on. Like, in colloquial speech such a term looks somewhat elaborate and even cuts the ear. On the other hand, they object to such pedants - if the people are intelligent, then their conversation consists not only of vernacular words and expressions. Therefore, the more intelligent the conversation, the more the term “impressed” will not get out of the general context. By the way, in modern language the meaning of German origin is more accepted, while in classical nineteenth-century Russian literature the meaning that came from the French language was widespread. In our turbulent world, it is already obsolete and almost never used. Therefore, writers such as Leo Tolstoy could use this word in the sense of “morally suppress”, contrasting its meaning with such a verb as “like”. Now this seems not entirely clear.