<B>impact crater,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a crater produced by the impact of falling meteorites or of material ejected from volcanoes. <BR> <I>Ex. Evidently the maria are ... in many cases enormous impact craters ... that were filled with basaltic lava early in the history of the moon (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="impacted">
<B>impacted, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>firmly wedged in place. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of a tooth) wedged between the jawbone and another tooth. <DD><B> 3. </B>closely packed; driven or pressed tightly together. <DD><B> 4. </B>(of a fracture) driven together so that the parts of a broken bone become locked. <DD><B> 5. </B>(U.S.) <DD><B> a. </B>financially burdened by the demand on public services, especially schools, caused by the sudden influx of many new residents into an area. <BR> <I>Ex. proposed that $1.5 billion in federal funds be made available to "racially impacted areas" (Time).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>designed to relieve an impacted area. <BR> <I>Ex. "impacted aid"--that is, Federal assistance to certain school districts to help them bear the impact of the children of Federal employees on their education costs (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="impactite">
<B>impactite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a glassy kind of rock fragment formed as a result of the impact of a meteorite on the surface of the earth. <BR> <I>Ex. Impactites ... are usually discovered near huge craters (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="impactstatement">
<B>impact statement,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a review of the possible consequences of a proposed idea or project, especially one affecting the environment. <BR> <I>Ex. In the first draft of an impact statement on the transportation of radioactive materials near and through large, densely populated areas, the agency counted in ... New York City approximately 280,000 radioactive shipments (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="impair">
<B>impair, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to make worse; damage; harm; weaken. <BR> <I>Ex. Poor food impaired her health.</I> (SYN) hurt. noun <B>impairer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impairment">
<B>impairment, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of impairing. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fact of being impaired. <DD><B> 3. </B>injury; damage. </DL>
<A NAME="impala">
<B>impala, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a swift, African antelope of medium size, usually yellow-brown in color. </DL>
<A NAME="impalation">
<B>impalation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the state of being impaled; impalement. </DL>
<A NAME="impale">
<B>impale, </B>transitive verb, <B>-paled,</B> <B>-paling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to pierce through with anything pointed; fasten upon anything pointed. <BR> <I>Ex. The butterflies were impaled on small pins stuck in a sheet of cork.</I> (SYN) transfix. <DD><B> 2. </B>to torture or punish by thrusting upon a pointed stake. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to enclose or surround with stakes; fence in. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to make helpless as if by piercing. <BR> <I>Ex. The teacher impaled the noisy student with a stern look.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Heraldry.) to combine (two coats of arms) side by side on one shield. Also, <B>empale.</B> noun <B>impaler.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impalement">
<B>impalement, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of impaling or fact of being impaled. <DD><B> 2. </B>an enclosure. <DD><B> 3. </B>an enclosed space. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Heraldry.) <DD><B> a. </B>the impaling of two coats of arms. <DD><B> b. </B>two coats of arms put side by side on one shield. </DL>
<A NAME="impalpability">
<B>impalpability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality or state of being impalpable. </DL>
<A NAME="impalpable">
<B>impalpable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>that cannot be felt by touching; intangible. <BR> <I>Ex. Color is impalpable. Sunlight and shadows are impalpable. A thread of a spider's web is so thin as to be almost impalpable.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) very hard to understand. <BR> <I>Ex. The speaker's audience failed to perceive his impalpable distinctions.</I> adv. <B>impalpably.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impanel">
<B>impanel, </B>transitive verb, <B>-eled,</B> <B>-eling</B> or (especially British) <B>-elled,</B> <B>-elling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to put on a list for duty on a jury. <DD><B> 2. </B>to select (a jury) from such a list. Also, <B>empanel.</B> noun <B>impanelment.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="imparadise">
<B>imparadise, </B>transitive verb, <B>-dised,</B> <B>-dising.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to put in or as if in paradise; make supremely happy. <DD><B> 2. </B>to make a paradise of. </DL>
<A NAME="imparipinnate">
<B>imparipinnate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> pinnate with an odd terminal leaflet; unevenly pinnate. <BR> <I>Ex. an imparipinnate leaf.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="imparity">
<B>imparity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> lack of parity or equality; inequality. </DL>
<A NAME="impark">
<B>impark, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to shut up (animals) in a park, as for hunting. <DD><B> 2. </B>to enclose (land) for a park; fence in. </DL>
<A NAME="impart">
<B>impart, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to give a share in; give. <BR> <I>Ex. The new furnishings imparted an air of newness to the old house.</I> (SYN) bestow, convey. <DD><B> 2. </B>to communicate; tell. <BR> <I>Ex. Impart the secret to me.</I> (SYN) relate, reveal. adj. <B>impartable.</B> noun <B>imparter.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impartation">
<B>impartation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of imparting; communication. </DL>
<A NAME="impartial">
<B>impartial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> showing no more favor to one side than to the other; fair; just. <BR> <I>Ex. A judge should be impartial.</I> (SYN) unbiased, unprejudiced, equitable. adv. <B>impartially.</B> noun <B>impartialness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impartiality">
<B>impartiality, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> fairness; justice; not taking sides. </DL>
<A NAME="impartible">
<B>impartible</B> (1), adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that cannot be parted or divided; indivisible. </DL>
<A NAME="impartible">
<B>impartible</B> (2), adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be imparted; communicable. </DL>
<A NAME="impartibly">
<B>impartibly, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> so as to be incapable of partition. </DL>
<A NAME="impartment">
<B>impartment, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of imparting. <DD><B> 2. </B>something that is imparted; a communication; disclosure. </DL>
<A NAME="impassability">
<B>impassability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality or condition of being impassable. </DL>
<A NAME="impassable">
<B>impassable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> not passable; so that one cannot go through, across, or along. <BR> <I>Ex. Snow and ice made the road impassable.</I> noun <B>impassableness.</B> adv. <B>impassably.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impasse">
<B>impasse, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a position from which there is no escape; deadlock. <BR> <I>Ex. The impasse was avoided by an agreement to divide the library (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a road or way closed at one end; blind alley. </DL>
<A NAME="impassibility">
<B>impassibility, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality or condition of being impassible. </DL>
<A NAME="impassible">
<B>impassible, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>unable to suffer or feel pain. <DD><B> 2. </B>that cannot be harmed. <DD><B> 3. </B>without feeling or emotion; impassive. <BR> <I>Ex. He was impassible before victory, before danger, before defeat (Thackeray).</I> (SYN) indifferent, apathetic, passive. noun <B>impassibleness.</B> adv. <B>impassibly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impassion">
<B>impassion, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to fill or affect strongly with passion. </DL>
<A NAME="impassioned">
<B>impassioned, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> full of strong feeling; stirring; rousing; ardent; emotional. <BR> <I>Ex. The general made an impassioned speech to his soldiers.</I> (SYN) fervid. adv. <B>impassionedly.</B> noun <B>impassionedness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impassive">
<B>impassive, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>without feeling or emotion; unmoved. <BR> <I>Ex. The Indians trained themselves to endure pain with impassive faces.</I> (SYN) indifferent, apathetic, passive. <DD><B> 2. </B>not feeling pain or injury; insensible. <BR> <I>Ex. The wounded soldier lay as impassive as if he were dead.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>incapable of being injured. adv. <B>impassively.</B> noun <B>impassiveness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="impassivity">
<B>impassivity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality or condition of being impassive; impassiveness. </DL>
<A NAME="impaste">
<B>impaste, </B>transitive verb, <B>-pasted,</B> <B>-pasting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to cover with or enclose in a paste or with something suggesting a paste. <DD><B> 2. </B>to paint by laying on color thickly. <DD><B> 3. </B>to make or form into a paste or crust. </DL>
<A NAME="impasto">
<B>impasto, </B>noun, pl. <B>-tos,</B> verb, <B>-toed,</B> <B>-toing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Painting.) <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the laying on of paint thickly, often with a palette knife. <DD><B> 2. </B>the paint so laid on. <DD><B> 3. </B>a style or technique using impasto. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to paint or decorate by laying on paint thickly; impaste. <BR> <I>Ex. Primitive in manner and thickly impastoed, Groom's paintings are nostalgic vignettes of ordinary life (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="impatience">
<B>impatience, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>lack of patience; being impatient. <BR> <I>Ex. Her impatience with the boy began to show in the teacher's voice.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>uneasiness and eagerness; restlessness. <BR> <I>Ex. In his impatience to start to school he forgot to take his homework.</I> </DL>
