Impacts — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb adjective /ˈim-ˌpakt/ (noun) /im-ˈpakt/ (verb) /ˈdi-sp(ə-)rət/ (adjective) im·pact

Meaning & Definition of Impacts

Impacts (noun)

  1. the act or force especially of one body striking another
  2. a forceful contact or onset; also, the impetus communicated in or as if in such a contact
  3. the strong influence of one thing on another, a significant or major effect —often used with on

Impacts (verb)

  1. to have a direct effect or impact on, impinge on
  2. to strike forcefully; also, to cause to strike forcefully
  3. to fix firmly by or as if by packing or wedging

Impacts (adjective)

  1. markedly distinct in quality or character
  2. containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements

Impacts (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a forceful coming together of two things

    "the glass shattered immediately upon impact with the floor"

    similar: bumps, collisions, concussions, crashes, impingements, jars, jolts, jounces, kicks, shocks, slams, smashes, strikes, wallops
    related: blows, buffets, hits, knocks, punches, raps, slaps, thumps, bashings, batterings, lickings, thrashings, contacts, encounters, meetings, touches

  2. the power to bring about a result on another

    "the execution had such a powerful impact on her that she became a crusader for the abolition of capital punishment"

    similar: effects, influences, marks, repercussions, sways
    related: authorities, clouts, prestiges, pulls, weights, commands, dominations, dominions, masteries, consequences, importances, significances, sovereignties, supremacies
    near: impotences, impotencies, weaknesses

Impacts (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response

    "the tragic loss of his father impacted the boy for the rest of his life"

    similar: affects, impresses, influences, moves, reaches, strikes, sways, tells (on), touches, gets to
    related: carries away, dazzles, enraptures, enthralls, entrances, ravishes, transports, biases, colors, inspires, stirs, engages, interests, involves, penetrates, pierces, afflicts, agitates, bothers, concerns, discomforts, discomposes, disquiets, distresses, disturbs, flusters, harasses, harries, perturbs, pesters, plagues, smites, strains, stresses, tries, troubles, upsets, worries, wrings, allures, attracts, bewitches, captivates, charms, enchants, fascinates
    near: bores, jades, palls, tires, wearies, underwhelms

  2. to come into usually forceful contact with something

    "the damage sustained when a car going 40 miles an hour impacts with a brick wall"

    similar: bangs, bashes, bumps, collides, crashes, hits, impinges, knocks, rams, slams, smashes, strikes, swipes, thuds
    related: bounces, caroms, clunks, glances, rebounds, ricochets, skims, skips, contacts, lands, touches, brushes, grazes, kisses, nudges, scrapes, shaves, sweeps, bulldozes, jostles, muscles, presses, pushes
    near: misses, skirts

  3. to set solidly in or as if in surrounding matter

    "the bullet was found impacted in the police officer's protective vest"

    similar: beds, embeds, enroots, entrenches, fixes, implants, ingrains, lodges, roots
    related: imbues, infuses, instills, beats (into), drives (into), establishes, places, puts, settles, sticks
    opposite: dislodges, roots (out), uproots
    near: eliminates, eradicates, ejects, expels, detaches, disconnects, disengages, removes

Related Entry: Impact (noun)

Impact is a different word from Impacts. The synonyms below are for impact, not for impacts.

  1. the power to bring about a result on another

    "the execution had such a powerful impact on her that she became a crusader for the abolition of capital punishment"

    similar: effect, influence, mark, repercussion, sway
    related: authority, clout, prestige, pull, weight, command, domination, dominion, mastery, consequence, importance, significance, sovereignty, supremacy
    near: helplessness, impotence, impotency, powerlessness, weakness

  2. a forceful coming together of two things

    "the glass shattered immediately upon impact with the floor"

    similar: bump, collision, concussion, crash, impingement, jar, jolt, jounce, kick, shock, slam, smash, strike, wallop
    related: blow, buffet, hit, knock, punch, rap, slap, thump, bashing, battering, bludgeoning, clobbering, hammering, lambasting, licking, pounding, pummeling, thrashing, contact, encounter, meeting, touch

  3. the quality of an utterance that provokes interest and produces an effect

    "the story has real dramatic impact"

    similar: cogency, effectiveness, force, forcefulness, point, punch
    related: payoff, importance, significance, appeal, attraction, charm, fascination

Related Entry: Impact (verb)

Impact is a different word from Impacts. The synonyms below are for impact, not for impacts.

  1. to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response

    "the tragic loss of his father impacted the boy for the rest of his life"

    similar: affect, impress, influence, move, reach, strike, sway, tell (on), touch, get to
    related: carry away, dazzle, enrapture, entrance, enthrall, ravish, transport, bias, color, inspire, stir, engage, interest, involve, penetrate, pierce, afflict, agitate, bother, concern, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, distress, disturb, fluster, harass, harry, perturb, pester, plague, smite, strain, stress, trouble, try, upset, worry, wring, allure, attract, bewitch, captivate, charm, enchant, fascinate
    near: bore, jade, pall, tire, weary, underwhelm

  2. to come into usually forceful contact with something

    "the damage sustained when a car going 40 miles an hour impacts with a brick wall"

    similar: bang, bash, bump, collide, crash, hit, impinge, knock, ram, slam, smash, strike, swipe, thud
    related: bounce, carom, clunk, glance, rebound, ricochet, skim, skip, contact, land, touch, brush, graze, kiss, nudge, scrape, shave, sweep, bulldoze, jostle, muscle, press, push
    near: miss, skirt

  3. to set solidly in or as if in surrounding matter

    "the bullet was found impacted in the police officer's protective vest"

    similar: bed, embed, enroot, entrench, fix, implant, ingrain, lodge, root
    related: imbue, infuse, instill, beat (into), drive (into), establish, place, put, settle, stick
    opposite: dislodge, root (out), uproot
    near: eliminate, eradicate, eject, expel, detach, disconnect, disengage, remove

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Impacts

The most common words with a similar meaning to Impacts:

bumps, collisions, concussions, crashes, impingements, jars, jolts, jounces, kicks, shocks, slams, smashes, strikes, wallops, effects, influences, marks, repercussions, sways, affects, impresses, moves, reaches, tells (on), touches, bangs, bashes, collides, hits, impinges, knocks, rams, swipes, thuds, beds, embeds, enroots, entrenches, fixes, implants

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Impacts

Words with the opposite meaning of Impacts:

dislodges, roots (out), uproots

Related Words for Impacts

blows, buffets, punches, raps, slaps, thumps, bashings, batterings, lickings, thrashings, contacts, encounters, meetings, authorities, clouts, prestiges, pulls, weights, commands, dominations, dominions, masteries, consequences, importances, significances, sovereignties, supremacies, carries away, dazzles, enraptures

Near Antonyms of Impacts

impotences, impotencies, weaknesses, bores, jades, palls, tires, wearies, underwhelms, misses, skirts, eliminates, eradicates, ejects, expels, detaches, disconnects, disengages, removes

Word Forms of Impacts

Inflections: impacted, impacting

Derived words: disparately (adverb), disparateness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Impacts

Latin impactus, past participle of impingere to push against impinge

First known use: 1781

Frequently Asked Questions about Impacts

What does "Impacts" mean?

"Impacts" means the act or force especially of one body striking another. As an a noun, a verb and an adjective, it is defined as: the act or force especially of one body striking another. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Impacts"?

Other words for "Impacts" include bumps, collisions, concussions, crashes, impingements, jars, jolts and jounces. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Impacts" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Impacts"?

There are 148 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Impacts". Common alternatives include bumps, collisions, concussions, crashes, impingements, jars, jolts, jounces, kicks and shocks.

What is the opposite of "Impacts"?

Antonyms of "Impacts" include dislodges, roots (out) and uproots. Near antonyms include impotences, impotencies, weaknesses and bores.

How do you use "Impacts" in a sentence?

Examples of "Impacts" in a sentence: "the glass shattered immediately upon impact with the floor"; "the execution had such a powerful impact on her that she became a crusader for the abolition of capital punishment"; "the tragic loss of his father impacted the boy for the rest of his life".

Is "Impacts" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Impacts" can be used as a noun, a verb and an adjective, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Impacts"?

"Impacts" is pronounced /ˈim-ˌpakt/ as a noun, /im-ˈpakt/ as a verb and /ˈdi-sp(ə-)rət/ as an adjective and divided into syllables as im·pact.

What is the origin of the word "Impacts"?

"Impacts" comes from Latin impactus, past participle of impingere to push against impinge. First known use: 1781.