Meaning & use

imposing

adjective·Academic

Impressive in size, appearance, or manner, often inspiring respect or a little awe.

See it in a sentence

The imposing castle walls towered over the small village below.

His imposing presence made everyone in the room fall silent.

A note on using this word

Imposing often suggests a sense of intimidation alongside admiration, unlike impressive, which is purely positive.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

unimpressivemodest

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “imposing”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.