What does impressible mean?
Impressible means capable of being impressed, most often in the sense of being easily influenced by the appearance, appeal, or claims of another person. In this use, the word is similar to impressionable, though much less common, and can suggest a degree of credulity or susceptibility to persuasion. A second, specialized sense means capable of receiving an impression by stamping or pressing, as with certain materials. Impressible is therefore broader and less idiomatic than impressionable for modern prose. When describing someone who readily believes flattering stories, persuasive speakers, or dramatic appearances, impressionable will usually sound more natural, while impressible may be chosen for formal or stylistic effect.
Capable of being impressed, especially easily influenced or affected by an impression.
"The young audience was impressible and responded readily to the speaker's claims."
This sense is rare in modern English; impressionable is the usual modern choice.
Capable of receiving an impression by stamping, pressing, or similar pressure.
"The wax remains impressible until it has cooled and hardened."
This is a specialized sense, chiefly encountered in technical or historical descriptions of materials and processes.
Impressible captures the moment when an idea, appearance, or appeal makes a decisive impression.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does impressible come from?
Impressible was formed in English with the suffix -ible, meaning “able to be” or “capable of being,” attached to a form related to impress. The underlying Latin verb imprimere meant “to press into” or “stamp,” from in- and premere, “to press.” The word later developed the figurative sense of influencing the mind or emotions, and hence came to describe someone who is easily impressed.
Related word forms
How impressible is actually used
The word is uncommon in modern English, especially in the sense of being easily influenced; impressionable is normally preferred in that sense. The stamping or pressing sense is specialized and comparatively rare.
Easily confused with impressible
Impressionable is the more common modern word for someone who is easily influenced, whereas impressible is comparatively rare and formal.
Impressive describes something that produces a strong favorable impression, while impressible describes someone or something capable of receiving or being strongly affected by an impression.