impression

a vague idea in which some confidence is placed

• “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”

an outward appearance

• “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”

a clear and telling mental image

• “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”

a concavity in a surface produced by pressing

• “he left the impression of his fingers in the soft mud”

a symbol that is the result of printing

• “he put his stamp on the envelope”

all the copies of a work printed at one time

• “they ran off an initial printing of 2000 copies”

(dentistry) an imprint of the teeth and gums in wax or plaster

• “the dentist took an impression for use in preparing an inlay”

an impressionistic portrayal of a person

• “he did a funny impression of a politician”

the act of pressing one thing on or into the surface of another

• “he watched the impression of the seal on the hot wax”