imprint means an impression; the mark left behind by printing something or by pressing on something, or the figurative counterpart of such a mark. It carries an Arena rating of 1537, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, imprint ranks #44 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words, #122 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #1,972 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,178 of 17,130 for Most Ingenious Words.
imprint is pronounced /ˈɪm.pɹɪnt/.
Why “imprint” is a great word
A mark or impression made by pressure, or the publisher's name and details in a book. From Middle English emprenten, from Old French empreinter, from empreinte ('impression'), based on Latin imprimere ('to press into or upon'), from in- ('in') + premere ('to press'). First attested in the 14th century. Unlike 'impress,' which etches a strong effect upon the mind, or 'brand,' which asserts a commercial identity, imprint speaks to the permanence of the physical trace, the literal indentation. It is the fossil in shale, the lingering warmth on a vacated chair, the colophon on a title page declaring its lineage—each a testament to a presence that has been and is now gone, leaving only the shape of its pressure behind.
noun
- An impression; the mark left behind by printing something or by pressing on something, or the figurative counterpart of such a mark.e.g.“Their footsteps left an imprint in the sand.”
- The name and details of a publisher or printer, as printed in a book etc.; (metonymic) the publisher, publishing house, or printer; their brand, or one of their subbrands.e.g.“Near-synonyms: colophon, imprimatur”
- A distinctive marking, symbol, or logo.e.g.“Near-synonyms: imprimatur, hallmark”
verb
- To leave a print, impression, image, etc.e.g.“For a fee, they can imprint the envelopes with a monogram.”
- To learn something indelibly at a particular stage of life, such as who one's parents are.e.g.“Baby birds are known for a propensity to imprint; they tend to imprint on whichever creatures they perceive to be their parents — including humans doing wildlife rescue!”
- To mark a gene as being from a particular parent so that only one of the two copies of the gene is expressed.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.