Impose

How to spell impose

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce impose

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does impose mean?

1. verbTo establish or enforce a rule, tax, penalty, or burden as something that must be accepted.
2. verbTo take unfair advantage of someone by asking too much of their time, hospitality, or goodwill.

Impose in a sentence

• The council voted to impose a new parking charge on the high street.

• She hated to impose on her neighbours by asking for another lift.

• The judge can impose a heavier fine for repeat offenders.

• He did not want to impose on the family during their holiday.

Where does impose come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin imponere, which literally meant 'to place upon' or 'to set on', built from the prefix in- 'on, upon' and the verb ponere 'to put or place'. In Latin it already carried a figurative weight, since to set a burden or a duty 'upon' someone is to impose it on them. English borrowed the word in the late 1400s through the Old French imposer, and that French form is the reason the spelling ends in -pose rather than the Latin -pone: French had reshaped the verb under the influence of poser 'to place'. The same ponere root sits inside a whole family of English words, including 'deposit', 'compose', and 'position', so the silent logic of 'placing' runs through all of them. Because the everyday meaning of laying a tax, a rule, or an unwanted demand on people grew directly out of that idea of placing something on top, the -pose ending stays consistent across the family and is the part to anchor in memory.

How the word is built

• im- (in, upon, a form of in-)
• pose (to place or put, from Latin ponere)