Impinge
verb
To have an effect or influence, especially a negative one.
His injuries could impinge his ability to play football.
Often appears as...
- impinge on ability
- impinge on rights
verb
To intrude or encroach on someone's rights or territory.
The new law might impinge on our privacy.
Often appears as...
- impinge upon privacy
- impinge upon rights
Usage tips
Formal
General, Academic, Legal
verb
In physics, to strike or collide with.
Light beams impinge on the surface at an angle.
Often appears as...
- impinge on surface
- impinge at an angle
Usage tips
Technical
verb
To have an effect or influence, especially a negative one.
His injuries could impinge his ability to play football.
Often appears as...
- impinge on ability
- impinge on rights
verb
To intrude or encroach on someone's rights or territory.
The new law might impinge on our privacy.
Often appears as...
- impinge upon privacy
- impinge upon rights
Usage tips
Formal
General, Academic, Legal
verb
In physics, to strike or collide with.
Light beams impinge on the surface at an angle.
Often appears as...
- impinge on surface
- impinge at an angle
Usage tips
Technical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Usually implies a harmful or limiting effect, mainly seen as something bad.
Heavy workload could impinge on your leisure time.
Pro Tip 2/3Impersonal Subjects
Often used with non-human subjects like events, circumstances, or objects doing the action.
Rising costs impinge on our ability to fund the project.
Pro Tip 3/3Impact Intensity
The influence doesn't have to be total but can still be significant.
The heavy snow didn't stop the event but impinged its success.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Usually implies a harmful or limiting effect, mainly seen as something bad.
Heavy workload could impinge on your leisure time.
Pro Tip 2/3Impersonal Subjects
Often used with non-human subjects like events, circumstances, or objects doing the action.
Rising costs impinge on our ability to fund the project.
Pro Tip 3/3Impact Intensity
The influence doesn't have to be total but can still be significant.
The heavy snow didn't stop the event but impinged its success.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Usually implies a harmful or limiting effect, mainly seen as something bad.
Heavy workload could impinge on your leisure time.
Pro Tip 2/3Impersonal Subjects
Often used with non-human subjects like events, circumstances, or objects doing the action.
Rising costs impinge on our ability to fund the project.
Pro Tip 3/3Impact Intensity
The influence doesn't have to be total but can still be significant.
The heavy snow didn't stop the event but impinged its success.
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Video examples
Why design should...
Now, think just for a second. Where do they put it? Up high and without a lid. Reaching up to collect a coffee that I have paid for is an incredibly dangerous experience. But design also impinges on the clothes that I want to wear.
Video examples
Why design should...
Now, think just for a second. Where do they put it? Up high and without a lid. Reaching up to collect a coffee that I have paid for is an incredibly dangerous experience. But design also impinges on the clothes that I want to wear.
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
John Travolta
American Actor
I'm from a working-class family. We didn't have a lot, but we had the arts. You're talking to a guy who is making a living at doing what he loves doing - acting, singing and dancing. So any career ups and downs were not that significant to me; the only things that really powerfully impinged on me were my losses, and there were many in my life.
Quote examples
Max Heindel
Danish Celebrity
All things are in a state of vibration. Vibrations from objects in our surroundings are constantly impinging upon us and carry to our senses a cognition of the external world. The vibrations in the ether act upon our eyes so that we see, and vibrations in the air transmit sounds to the ear.
Quote examples
David Suzuki
Canadian Scientist
We emerged out of nature, and when we die, we return to nature. We need to know there are forces impinging on us that we will never understand or control. We need to have sacred places where we go with respect, not just looking for resources or opportunity.
Quote examples
Joss Whedon
American Writer
I don't tend to write straight dramas where real life just impinges. But because I don't, when I do, it is very interesting to slap people in the face with just an absolute of life.
Quote examples
Cesar Azpilicueta
Spanish Athlete
People see the nice side of the game, but behind it all, there is a sacrifice that they don't see: the pressure, the repercussion, the way that impinges on your life.
Quote examples
Roger Mudd
American Journalist
For decades, the journalistic norm had been that the private lives of public officials remained private unless that life impinged on public performance.
Quote examples
Dale T. Mortensen
American Economist
Economics is a strange science. Our subject deals with some of the most important as well as mundane issues that impinge on the human condition.
Quote examples
Don Willett
American Judge
Laws that impinge your constitutionally protected right to earn an honest living must not be preposterous.
Quote examples
Hugo Weaving
Nigerian Actor
I think I'm a bit of a dreamer. I don't like the reality of life to impinge much on my life.
Quote examples
Hugh Masekela
South African Musician
Apartheid didn't impinge on music. It impinged on people's freedoms.
Quote examples
John Travolta
American Actor
I'm from a working-class family. We didn't have a lot, but we had the arts. You're talking to a guy who is making a living at doing what he loves doing - acting, singing and dancing. So any career ups and downs were not that significant to me; the only things that really powerfully impinged on me were my losses, and there were many in my life.
Quote examples
Max Heindel
Danish Celebrity
All things are in a state of vibration. Vibrations from objects in our surroundings are constantly impinging upon us and carry to our senses a cognition of the external world. The vibrations in the ether act upon our eyes so that we see, and vibrations in the air transmit sounds to the ear.
Quote examples
David Suzuki
Canadian Scientist
We emerged out of nature, and when we die, we return to nature. We need to know there are forces impinging on us that we will never understand or control. We need to have sacred places where we go with respect, not just looking for resources or opportunity.
Quote examples
Joss Whedon
American Writer
I don't tend to write straight dramas where real life just impinges. But because I don't, when I do, it is very interesting to slap people in the face with just an absolute of life.
Quote examples
Cesar Azpilicueta
Spanish Athlete
People see the nice side of the game, but behind it all, there is a sacrifice that they don't see: the pressure, the repercussion, the way that impinges on your life.
Quote examples
Roger Mudd
American Journalist
For decades, the journalistic norm had been that the private lives of public officials remained private unless that life impinged on public performance.
Quote examples
Dale T. Mortensen
American Economist
Economics is a strange science. Our subject deals with some of the most important as well as mundane issues that impinge on the human condition.
Quote examples
Don Willett
American Judge
Laws that impinge your constitutionally protected right to earn an honest living must not be preposterous.
Quote examples
Hugo Weaving
Nigerian Actor
I think I'm a bit of a dreamer. I don't like the reality of life to impinge much on my life.
Quote examples
Hugh Masekela
South African Musician
Apartheid didn't impinge on music. It impinged on people's freedoms.
Example 1 of 10
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