Impinge (verb)
im·pinge [im-pinj]
verb (used without object)
1. to make an impression; have an effect or impact (usually followed by on or upon): to impinge upon the imagination; social pressures that impinge upon one's daily life.
2. to encroach; infringe (usually followed by on or upon): to impinge on another's rights.
3. to strike; dash; collide (usually followed by on, upon, or against): rays of light impinging on the eye.
verb (used with object)
4. Obsolete. to come into violent contact with.
Can be confused: infringe, impinge.
Synonyms
See more synonyms for inoculate on Thesaurus.com
Related forms
im·ping·ent , adjective
im·ping·er , noun
im·pinge·ment , noun
un·im·ping·ing , adjective
Related Words for impinge
infringe, intrude, encroach, disturb, violate, influence, meddle, obtrude, touch, affect, pry, invade
Origin: 1525–35; < Medieval Latin impingere to strike against, drive at, equivalent to Latin im- im-1 + -pingere, combining form of pangere to fasten, drive in, fix; see impact
Examples from the Web for impinge
Contemporary Examples of impinge
Things are distant, but in so far as they impinge at all, not unpleasant.
The Daily Beast logo
Elia Kazan to Tennessee Williams: You Gotta Suffer to Sing the Blues
Elia Kazan
May 1, 2014
Nor does it impinge on "the fundamental right of privacy guaranteed by the United States Constitution."
The Daily Beast logo
Our Dumb Puritan Laws: Sex Bans and Illegal Adultery
Kevin Bleyer
April 20, 2014
Hines's pictures don't make us feel miserable enough, for the misery of their subjects to impinge fully on us.
The Daily Beast logo
Child Labor ... of Love
Blake Gopnik
January 16, 2014
The new guidelines do not impinge on the free-trade agreement or other agreements governing cultural and sports exchanges.
The Daily Beast logo
Business Is Personal: Why the EU's New Guidelines Could Hurt Israel's Economy
Bernard Avishai
July 17, 2013
This is just another attempt to impinge upon freedom of speech and free expression.
The Daily Beast logo
Shame on Michele Bachmann!
Larry Flynt
July 9, 2011
Historical Examples of impinge
The word that did impinge on his consciousness did so with a shock.
Pagan Passions
Gordon Randall Garrett
Sound comes to us in the guise of air-waves, which impinge upon the drum of the ear.
Spirit and Music
H. Ernest Hunt
He was the only man in England whose career might impinge upon mine.
Hilda Wade
Grant Allen
Above all: will the browns tend to impinge on white race-areas as the yellows show signs of doing?
The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy
Theodore Lothrop Stoddard
At the same time a wave of intense virility seemed to surge out from him and impinge upon her.
Martin Eden
Jack London
