Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

impact

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of impact

1 to act upon (a person or a personʼs feelings) so as to cause a response

  • the tragic loss of his father impacted the boy for the rest of his life
Synonyms of impact

affect, impress, influence, move, reach, strike, sway, tell (on), touch
Words Related to impact

carry away, dazzle, enrapture, entrance, enthrall (or enthral), 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
Phrases Synonymous with impact

get to
Near Antonyms of impact

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
Synonyms of impact

bang, bash, bump, collide, crash, hit, impinge, knock, ram, slam, smash, strike, swipe, thud
Words Related to impact

bounce, carom, clunk, glance, rebound, ricochet, skim, skip

contact, land, touch

brush, graze, kiss, nudge, scrape, shave, sweep

bulldoze, jostle, muscle, press, push
Near Antonyms of impact

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
Synonyms of impact

bed, embed (also imbed), enroot, entrench (also intrench), fix, implant, ingrain (also engrain), lodge, root
Words Related to impact

imbue, infuse, instill

beat (into), drive (into)

establish, place, put, settle, stick
Near Antonyms of impact

eliminate, eradicate

eject, expel

detach, disconnect, disengage, remove
Antonyms of impact

dislodge, root (out), uproot

impact

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of impact

1 a forceful coming together of two things

  • the glass shattered immediately upon impact with the floor
Synonyms of impact

bump, collision, concussion, crash, impingement, jar, jolt, jounce, kick, shock, slam, smash, strike, wallop
Words Related to impact

blow, buffet, hit, knock, punch, rap, slap, thump

bashing, battering, bludgeoning, clobbering, hammering, lambasting, licking, pounding, pummeling (also pummelling), thrashing

contact, encounter, meeting, touch

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
Synonyms of impact

effect, influence, mark, repercussion, sway
Words Related to impact

authority, clout, prestige, pull, weight

command, domination, dominion, mastery

consequence, importance, significance

sovereignty (also sovranty), supremacy
Near Antonyms of impact

helplessness, impotence, impotency, powerlessness, weakness

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

  • the story has real dramatic impact
Synonyms of impact

cogency, effectiveness, force, forcefulness, point, punch
Words Related to impact

payoff

importance, significance

appeal, attraction, charm, fascination

Synonym Discussion of impact

impact, collision, shock, concussion mean a forceful, even violent contact between two or more things. impact may be used to imply contact between two things, at least one of which is impelled toward the other.
    • the glass shattered on impact with the floor
collision implies the coming together of two or more things with such force that both or all are damaged or their progress is severely impeded.
    • the collision damaged the vehicle
shock often denotes the effect produced by a collision and carries the suggestion of something that strikes or hits with force.
    • the shock of falling rocks
concussion when not in technical use, often suggests the shattering, disrupting, or weakening effects of a collision, explosion, or blow.
    • bystanders felt the concussion of the blast

Learn More about impact

  1. See words that rhyme with impact Dictionary: Definition of impact Spanish Central: Translation of impact Nglish: Translation of impact for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of impact for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about impact

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up impact? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games