ENGLISH
REFERENCE

imprint

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //ˈɪmpɹɪnt// im·print

n. a mark or shape made by pressing something onto a surface. It can also mean a lasting effect that an experience has on your mind.

n. a mark or impression produced by pressure; figuratively, a lasting effect or influence on a person's character or memory.


SIMPLE

The hiker found a clear boot imprint in the soft mud.

CONTEXTUAL

The childhood summers spent at his grandmother's farm left a permanent imprint on his artistic style.

COMPLEX

Archaeologists carefully brushed away the silt to reveal the fossilized imprint of a prehistoric fern, preserved in remarkable detail within the sedimentary rock.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Old French empreinte, from the past participle of empreindre, from Latin imprimere.

Etymology 2

From Middle English emprinten, enprinten, from Old French empreinter, from the past participle of empreindre, from Latin imprimere.

Usage

Often takes the preposition 'of' (the imprint of a foot) or 'on' (an imprint on the mind).

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