n.

1. a vague idea in which some confidence is placed;
   feeling, belief, notion, opinion
   
   • his impression of her was favorable
   • what are your feelings about the crisis?
   • it strengthened my belief in his sincerity
   • I had a feeling that she was lying
2. an outward appearance;
   effect
   
   • he made a good impression
   • I wanted to create an impression of success
   • she retained that bold effect in her reproductions of the original painting
3. a clear and telling mental image;
   mental picture, picture
   
   • he described his mental picture of his assailant
   • he had no clear picture of himself or his world
   • the events left a permanent impression in his mind
4. a concavity in a surface produced by pressing;
   depression, imprint
   
   • he left the impression of his fingers in the soft mud
5. a symbol that is the result of printing;
   stamp
   
   • he put his stamp on the envelope
6. all the copies of a work printed at one time;
   printing
   
   • they ran off an initial printing of 2000 copies
7. (dentistry) an imprint of the teeth and gums in wax or plaster
   
   • the dentist took an impression for use in preparing an inlay
8. an impressionistic portrayal of a person
   
   • he did a funny impression of a politician
9. the act of pressing one thing on or into the surface of another
   
   • he watched the impression of the seal on the hot wax