Entry Word: impact

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a forceful coming together of two things <the glass shattered on impact with the floor>

Synonyms bump, collision, concussion, crash, jar, jolt, shock, smash, strike, wallop

Related Words blow, buffet, hit, knock, punch, rap, slap, thump; bashing, battering, bludgeoning, clobbering, hammering, lambasting, licking, pounding, pummelling, thrashing; contact, encounter, meeting, touch

2 the power to bring about a result on another <the impact of the event was such that she became a crusader for prison reform> — see effect 2
3 the quality of an utterance that provokes interest and produces an effect <the story has real dramatic impact> — see ¹punch 1