impressive
- 1Making, or tending to make, a strong positive impression; able to impress those who see or hear it.
Like a fireworks finale that makes the whole crowd gasp.
The orchestra delivered an impressive performance that left the audience speechless.
Her résumé is impressive, listing a decade of leadership across three industries.
Similarstupendous
Oppositeunimpressive, mediocre, disappointing, underwhelming
Note
The word is impress plus -ive, and here the suffix faces outward: the impressive thing does the impressing, as a speech or a movie does to its audience. The same suffix can face inward, toward what receives an action, and that is how the receptive meaning grew from the same parts. Only context tells the two apart. Stupendous stands nearby, though it is pitched much higher.
- 2Appealing; having qualities that attract or please those who encounter it.
The proposal was impressive, and several investors found it hard to resist.
Fresh fruit arranged across the table looked genuinely impressive to the arriving guests.
Similarappealing, attractive, pleasing, inviting, enticing
Oppositeunappealing, unattractive, uninviting
- 3Capable of being impressed; able to receive an impression or be shaped by an outside influence.
Soft wax is impressive, taking a clear shape from any seal pressed into it.
Children of that age are impressive, quickly taking on the manners and habits of whoever raises them.
Similarimpressionable, malleable, pliable, receptive, susceptible
Oppositerigid, resistant, inflexible
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Origin
Formed from "impress" combined with the suffix "-ive".