imposing

adjective im·pos·ing \ im-ˈpō-ziŋ \

Updated on: 12 Nov 2017

Definition of imposing

: impressive in size, bearing, dignity, or grandeur

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imposingly

play \im-ˈpō-ziŋ-lē\ adverb

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Examples of imposing in a Sentence

He's an imposing man with a powerful voice.
the president of the bank is exactly the sort of imposing figure that one might expect

Recent Examples of imposing from the Web

Defensively, the Patriots appeared the more aggressive, more physical, and more imposing group.

— aaron carter, Philly.com, "Central Bucks East upsets La Salle in lacrosse," 3 June 2017
The Mulsanne was redesigned for 2017 with a more imposing front end dominated by a large stainless steel vertical-vane grille; it is intended to recall the great models of the past.

— mark maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2017 Bentley Mulsanne: A battle hymn of tradition and stoic provenance," 11 Aug. 2017
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Kunz had caught 22 passes for 499 yards and eight touchdowns, making him one of the more imposing threats in the area.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Germantown's Kunz proved quick study, picked up scholarship offer in only year of high school football," 13 Oct. 2017
But before that matchup, the USL squad will take on an even more imposing opponent — the United States men’s national team.

— alicia delgallo, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Benny Feilhaber ‘shocked’ by U.S. men’s national team call-up," 3 Oct. 2017
Still, Trump is also trying to coax the Chinese leadership into cracking down on North Korea, and so imposing tariffs may complicate that effort.

— joe ryan, Bloomberg.com, "Uncertainty Grips Solar as Industry Awaits Trump's Tariff Ruling," 22 Sep. 2017
The poll, conducted for Penn State’s McCourtney Institute of Democracy, found 44 percent of people would favor imposing term limits on justices.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "Why the Supreme Court is rarely in the dock," 22 Sep. 2017
After five years of being content in its role as the fun-loving, pink-mustached underdog of ride hailing, Lyft is proving to be a wily opportunist and a more imposing threat to Uber.

— michael liedtke, The Seattle Times, "As Uber drove into PR pot hole, Lyft stepped on the gas," 2 Sep. 2017
At Oracle Arena, one of the most imposing arenas in the league, the Pistons (5-2) moved to 2-0 on this early season trip out west.

— vince ellis, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Pistons stun NBA champion Warriors on the road, 115-107," 29 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'imposing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of imposing

1786

imposing Synonyms

Synonyms

august, distingué, distinguished, dignified, portly, solemn, staid, stately

Antonyms

flighty, frivolous, giddy, goofy, silly, undignified

Related Words

decorous, proper, seemly; grave, grim, po-faced [British], sober, somber (or sombre); aristocratic, elegant, elevated, handsome, lordly, magisterial, majestic, noble

Near Antonyms

coarse, crass, crude, improper, indecent, uncouth, unseemly, vulgar

Synonym Discussion of imposing

grand, magnificent, imposing, stately, majestic, grandiose mean large and impressive. grand adds to greatness of size the implications of handsomeness and dignity.