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IMPRESSIVE
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I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Producing a strong effect
Example:
a telling gesture
Synonyms:
impressive; telling
Classified under:
Similar:
effective; effectual; efficacious (producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect)
Derivation:
impress (produce or try to produce a vivid impression of)
impress (have an emotional or cognitive impact upon)
impressiveness (the quality of making a strong or vivid impression on the mind)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Making a strong or vivid impression
Example:
an impressive ceremony
Classified under:
Similar:
thundering (extraordinarily big or impressive)
signal (notably out of the ordinary)
palatial (suitable for or like a palace)
mind-boggling (intellectually or emotionally overwhelming)
grandiose (impressive because of unnecessary largeness or grandeur; used to show disapproval)
brilliant; glorious; magnificent; splendid (characterized by grandeur)
gallant; lofty; majestic; proud (having or displaying great dignity or nobility)
formidable (extremely impressive in strength or excellence)
expansive; grand; heroic (of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope)
dramatic; spectacular; striking (sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect)
dazzling; eye-popping; fulgurant; fulgurous (amazingly impressive; suggestive of the flashing of lightning)
baronial; imposing; noble; stately (impressive in appearance)
astonishing; astounding; staggering; stupefying (so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm)
arresting; sensational; stunning (commanding attention)
amazing; awe-inspiring; awesome; awful; awing (inspiring awe or admiration or wonder)
Also:
moving (arousing or capable of arousing deep emotion)
Antonym:
unimpressive (not capable of impressing)
Derivation:
impress (have an emotional or cognitive impact upon)
impress (impress positively)
impressiveness (the quality of making a strong or vivid impression on the mind)
impressiveness (splendid or imposing in size or appearance)
Context examples:
As Amy returned from her last trip, Mr. Davis gave a portentous "Hem!" and said, in his most impressive manner...
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
So scientists were surprised to learn that giant kelp maintains its impressive growth rates year-round, even in summer and early fall when ocean currents along the California coast stop delivering nutrients.
(In search of an undersea kelp forest's missing nitrogen, National Science Foundation)
Dust from the comet impacted Mars and was vaporized high in the atmosphere, producing what was likely an impressive meteor shower.
(Mars Spacecraft Reveal Comet Flyby Effects on Martian Atmosphere, NASA)
While the most impressive feature of the device is creating electricity, it also acts as a handy weather station that can tell users data on the amount and direction of snowfall as well as the direction and speed of the wind.
(Nanogenerator Creates Electricity from Snowfall, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
We had breakfasted and were smoking our morning pipe on the day after the remarkable experience which I have recorded, when Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, very solemn and impressive, was ushered into our modest sitting-room.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
My manner as I thus addressed him was impressive but calm; I had formed in my own heart a resolution to pursue my destroyer to death, and this purpose quieted my agony and for an interval reconciled me to life.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Mrs. Bennet was diffuse in her good wishes for the felicity of her daughter, and impressive in her injunctions that she should not miss the opportunity of enjoying herself as much as possible—advice which there was every reason to believe would be well attended to; and in the clamorous happiness of Lydia herself in bidding farewell, the more gentle adieus of her sisters were uttered without being heard.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
The group of four geologists from Ural Federal University set out for the Lut desert, or Dasht-e-Lut, in search of evidence of meteorites - similar to the one that crashed to earth in an impressive fireball over the Russian town of Chelyabinsk in 2013.
(Huge Haul of Extraterrestrial Material Recovered from Iranian Desert, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
To make his example the more impressive, Mr. Micawber drank a glass of punch with an air of great enjoyment and satisfaction, and whistled the College Hornpipe.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
When your ruler goes forward, it means your life will start to show impressive progress in areas you’ve been focused on.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
