Large and imposing edifices imbosomcd In the groves of 
some rich valley. Bp. Uobart. 
importunity 
2. The act or state of being importunate ; per- imposer (im-po'zer), n. One who imposes or 
tinacity in solicitation or demand; persistent lays on; one who enjoins or exacts, 
urgency or insisteii'-r. The imposcrs of these oaths might repent /. Walton. 
By much Importunity and his own Presence, he got of imposing (im-po'zing), p. a. Impressive; com- 
the Abbot of Ramsey a hundred IVMinds^^ ^ manding; stately; striking: as, an imposing 
manner. 
Indeed, Sir Peter, your frequent importunity on this 
subject distresses me extrrnn -ly. 
Sherutan, School for Scandal, 111. 1. 
l.ib'rul of their aid 
To clam'rous Importunity in rags. 
Cmrptr, Task, iv. 414. 
The army demand with importunity their arrears of 
pay. Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent, XV. 
imposable (im-po'za-bl), a. [= P. imposable; imposingly (im-po'zing-li), adv 
MtapOM + -aWc.]" 1. Capable of being im- JXJHSSL. ,j X ',i =i ., 
pressive. 
, , ,. slab, 
' * carefully leveled stone, but now 
often of iron, resting upon a frame, on which 
pages of type or stereotype plates are imposed, 
A poet without love 
iinptt-stliilily. 
impost 
rere a physical and metaphyiical 
Carltjle, Burns. 
The distribution of wealth which the Democratic pro- 
gramme demands Is a scientific impossibility, and no laws 
could accomplish It Malloclc, Social Equality, p. 3. 
3t. Helplessness; impotence. 
When we say Lead us not Into temptation, we learn to 
know our owu impossibility and Infirmity. 
Latimer, Works (Parker Soc.X I. 432. 
is'i-bl), a. andji. [< ME. im- 
Tlie silence and the solemn grandeur of the immense impossible (im- 
bui,di,,gs -und me were "> W^ ible , ^ < OF. (also P.) impossibU ,= 
He Is almost always more fortunate, and sometimes 
powerful and imposing. Ticknor, Span. Lit, I. 220. 
In an impos- 
MS nil/nisi' -t- -nli/f'.] i. Uipanio (il nemtf im- '"& """ ..... 
IIMS, .lorlaidon. 2f. Capable of being imposed imposmgness (n-pp zing-nes), . 
Spon or taken advantage of. [Rare.1 SS2S^E&3,&i 
and on which type-correctingin the page isdone. 
imposing-table (im-po'ziug-ta'bl), . Same as 
better. Btigtr North, Lord Gullford, II. &4. 
imposableness (im-po'za-bl-nes), n. The state 
or quality of being imposable. 
impose (im-poz'), r.; pret. and pp. imposed, ppr. 
^^^&lS?&?tt ^^^(im^-zish^),. 
iniponi-rc, pp. impositus, lay on, impose: see '- 
pone tmdpose 3 , and cf. oppose 1 , compose, depose, 
etc.] I. trans. 1. To lay on, or set on; put, 
Slace, or deposit: as, to impose the hands in or- 
ination or confirmation. [Obsolete or archaic 
except in this use.] 
Cakes of salt and barley [she] did impose 
Within a wicker basket. Chapman, Odyssey, Iv. 
He sprlnkleth upon the altar milk, then imponeth the 
honey. B. Jonson, Sejanus, v. 4. 
Bishops had a power of impairing hands, for collating of 
orders, which presbyters have not 
Jar. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 14. 
2. To lay as a burden, or something to bo 
borne or endured; levy, inflict, or enforce, 
as by authority, power, or influence : as, to iin- 
l>nxf taxes or penalties ; to impose one's opin- 
ions upon others. 
In the Sound also there be some extraordinary Duties 
imposed, whereat all Nations begin to murmur. 
HouvU, Letters, I. vL 4. 
If laws be imposed upon us without our personal or im- 
plied consent, we cannot be accounted better than slaves. 
Quoted in Bancroft! Hist. V. ., I. 101). 
Each man, too, is a tyrant in tendency, because he 
would imp*e his Idea on others. 
Einerton, Nominalist and Realist 
The race dominant enough to maintain or impose Its 
language usually more or less maintains or imposes its 
civilization also. E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, I. 44. 
3. To obtrude fallaciously or deceitfully ; palm 
off; pass off. 
Our poet thinks not fit 
To tmpote upon you what he writes for wit 
Dryden. 
lie ... Is either married, or going to be so, to this lady, 
whom ho imposed upon me as his sister. 
Goldsmith, Good-natured Man, v. 
4. To fix upon ; impute. [Rare.] 
This cannot be allowed, exce 
first cause which we impose no 
[< P. imposition 
= Pr. emposiciOf'imposiiio = Sp. imposieion = 
Pg. imposiq&o It. imposizione, < L. imposi- 
tio(n-), inpositio(n-), a laying upon, applica- 
tion, < imponere, inponere, pp. impositus, inj>osi- 
tus, lay upon: see impone, impose.'} 1. A pla- 
cing, putting, or laying on : as, the imposition 
of hands in ordination or confirmation. 
The ancient custom of the Church was, after they had 
baptized, to add thereunto imposition of hands with effec- 
tual prayer. {looker, Eccles. Polity, v. en. 
2. The act of positing or fixing; affixment; at- 
tachment : with on or upon. 
By our apprehension of propositions I mean onrfmjxMi- 
tioii of a sense on the terms of which they are composed. 
J. U. Newman, Gram, of Assent p. 1. 
3. A laying or placing as a burden or obligation; 
the act of levying, enjoining, enforcing, or in- 
flicting: as, the imposition of taxes or of laws. 
Disciplined 
From shadowy types to truth; from flesh to spirit ; 
From imposition of strict laws to free 
Acceptance of large grace. Milton, P. L., ill. 304. 
4. In printing, the laying of pages of type o 
" ">ed of i 
This cannot be allowed, except we impute that unto the 
t on the second. 
Sir T. Browne. 
5f. To subject by way of punishment. 
Impose mo to what penance your invention 
Can lay upon my sin. Shale., Much Ado, v. 1. 
6. In printing, to lay upon an imposing-stone 
or the oed of a press and secure in a chase, as 
pages of type or stereotype plates. Pages or plates 
constituting a form or sheet are imposed in such order 
and .ii such intervals that they will appear in their right 
places and with the desired margin when the sheet printed 
in 
or 
plates'upon an imposing-stone or the bed of a 
press, and securing them in a chase. See im- 
pose, v. t., 6. 5. That which is laid on, enjoin- 
ed, levied, enforced, or inflicted, as a burden, 
tax, duty, or restriction ; specifically (in the 
plural), in Eng. hist., duties upon imports and 
exports imposed at the pleasure of the king. 
Fortune layeth as heavy impositions as virtue. 
.Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 333. 
All the commodities that go np into the country, of 
which there are great quantities, are clogged with impo- 
sitions as soon as they leave Leghorn. 
Adtlison, Remarks on Italy (ed. I'.olm), L 491. 
The order of the Jesuits was enriched by an imposition 
on the fisheries and fur-trade. Bancroft, Hist U. 8., I. lit. 
Most Important of all, there was the question of Impo- 
sitions, that is, of the King's right to impose duties at will 
upon exports and imports. K. A. Abbott, Bacon, p. 120. 
6. A trick or deception ; a fraud; an imposture. 
Being acquainted with his hand, I had no reason to 
suspect an imposition. Smollett. 
In none of these [treaties of the United States with 
Japan] do we find as cunning devices of diplomatic impo- 
sition. N. A. Ken., CXX.VII. 410. 
7. An exercise imposed upon a student as a 
punishment ; a task. 
Literary tasks, called impositions, or frequent compul- 
sive attendances on tedious and unlmproving exercises in 
a college hall. Warton. 
I may with justice 
Accuse my want of judgment to expect 
He should perform so hard an imposition. 
Shirley, Love In a Maze, Iv. 1. 
from them is folded. 
II. i nt num. 1. To lay or place a burden or 
restraint; act with constraining effect: with 
11/11111 : as, to impose upon one's patience or hos- 
pitality. Case Of the Impositions. Same as Bates's case (which 
It Is not only the difficulty and labour which men take ">ee, under ro*>i).-ImposlUpn of hands See hand. 
In Mmling out of truth, nor again that, when it is found, impOSltlVe (liu-poz'l-tiv). a. [< f- J + pmitin; 
it imiiosflh upon men's thoughts, that doth bring lies in fa- with ref. to impose.] Not positive. ["Rare.] 
vour. Bacon, Truth (ed. 1B87). 
2. To practise misleading trickery or impos- 
ture; act with a delusive effect: with upon : as, 
to mi/nisi- ii/ion one with false pretenses. 
I in wi Hope to impose upnn Ood, as we sometimes do 
upon men, by i\ mere form of godliness, without the pow- 
er of in Bp. Atterbui-if, Sermons, II. xx. 
The Catalogue alone of these Stamps, no bigger than 
two small Almanacks, cost me 14 Livres; so muchStran- 
fers are tmpttsi upon by the Crafty Booksellers of Rue 
t. Jaques. Li.tler, Journey to Paris, p. 106. 
imposet (im-poz'), M. [< impose, r.] Command; 
injunction. 
According to your ladyship's impose, 
1 am thus early come. Shale., T. G. of V.. iv. 3. 
190 
He [the psychological speculator] requires it to be grant- 
ed that his system is positive and that yours is impositice. 
De Morgan. Budget of Paradoxes, p. 27 n. 
impossibility (im-pos-i-bil'i-ti), n. ; pi. impim- 
sibilities (-tiz). [= F. impos/tibilite = Pr. im- 
pos/tibilitat = Sp. imposibilidad = Pj,'. im/ionxi- 
hilidade = It. impoxsihilita,, < LL. iw/wwwi'/iiVi'- 
ta(t-)s, ipossibilita(t-)s, < L. fmpOMwH*, im- 
possible: see impossible.] 1. The quality of 
being impossible; incapability of being or be- 
ing done. 
They confound difficulty with impossibility. South. 
2. That which is impossible ; that which can- 
not be or be done. 
?r. impossible, inpossible = Sp. impogible = Pg. 
impoasirel = It. iinpossibilc, < L. impossibilis, in- 
possibilis, not possible, < in- priv. + possibilu, 
possible: see possible.] I. a. 1. Not possible; 
non-existent or false by necessity, (o) Beyond 
the strength or power of the agent (6) Not possible from 
the nature of things ; contrary to a general principle or 
law of nature or of thought ; that not only is not and 
will not exist or happen, under actual circumstances, 
but would not be under any circumstances, within cer- 
tain limits. (See possible.) The modes of specializing 
these limits constitute the differences between the vari- 
ations of the meaning of the word, which are often dis- 
tinguished by means of adverbs applied to the adjective 
impossible, or of the corresponding adjectives applied to 
the abstract noun impossibility. If the limits are the 
widest possible, so that no change either in the facts or 
laws of the universe could make the object spoken of 
real, the latter is said to be loyically impossible: as A 
that is not A. So Berkeley maintains that a thing not 
thought of is logically Impossible. If the principles of 
mathematics would have to be changed to make the ob- 
ject real, It is mathematically impossible: thus, it Is mathe- 
matically impossible to turn a closed bag inside out; but 
if space had four dimensions, this could be done. It Is 
in this sense that imaginaries are sometimes termed im- 
possible quantities. By modern mathematicians mathe- 
matical impossibility Is generally regarded as a higher 
grade of physical impossibility. If no change of special 
facts without new laws of nature would suffice to realize 
the object, it is said to be physically impossible: as a per- 
petual motion. But In a second sense this phrase means 
beyond the strength or physical resources of the agent, 
no matter what efforts he might make : thus, it is physi- 
cally Impossible for the Portuguese to overrun and con- 
quer Africa. A supposed action utterly inconsistent with 
the moral character of the agent is said to be morally im- 
possible. This phrase is also used to mean 'extremely im- 
probable ' : thus, for a pitched coin to turn up heads and 
tails alternately for a hundred throws is morally Impos- 
sible. 
With men this Is impossible; but with God all things 
are possible. Mat xix. 20. 
It Is impossible that any man should feel for a fortress 
on a remote frontier as he feeis for his own house. 
Macaulay, History. 
( if what contraries consists a man ! 
( if what impossible mixtures I vice and virtue. 
Chapman, Byron's Tragedy, v. 1. 
Consciousness itself is impossible apart from limit. 
\'eitch, Introd. to Descartes's Method, p. civ. 
2. In Jaw, in a stricter sense, prevented only 
by the act of God or a public enemy. Whatever a 
person binds himself by contract to do, If not absurd, is 
not regarded as impossible in this sense, if it might be ac- 
complished by human means, these obstacles only except- 
ed ; and his practical inability is not deemed to render per- 
formance impossible. 
3. Excessively odd ; not to have been imagined ; 
such as would not have been thought possible : 
as, she is a most impossible person; no wears 
an impossible hat. [An affected French use.] 
Is there a cupola ship changed to a broadslder, or an un- 
serviceable three-decker converted into an impossible frig- 
ate, without costing the nation the charge of many Vice- 
roys? Vlackicoods Mag., XCVI. 606. 
Impossible quantity, in math., an imaginary quantity. 
See imaginary. =8yn. impossible. Impracticable. Impos- 
sible means that a thing cannot be effected or even sup- 
posed to be effected, being theoretically as well as prac- 
tically Incapable of accomplishment ; while impracticable 
refers rather to a thing so hard to effect, by reason of diffi- 
culties, that its accomplishment is beyond our power and 
practically out of the question. Thus, It may be imprac- 
ticable to extort money from a miser, but It is not impos- 
sible; or the construction of a railway over a morass 
may be impracticable, but not impossible If all considera- 
tions of outlay are thrown aside. It has been said that 
"nothing Is impossible, but many things are impracti- 
cable." 
Il.t H. An impossibility. Chaucer. 
impossibly (im-pos'i-bli), adv. Not possibly. 
impost (im'post ), n. [In def. 1, < OF. impost, F. 
inipot, m. (= Pg. imposto. m., It. imposta, t.), 
< ML. impostux, m., iniposita, f., a tax imposed; 
in def. 2, < F. itii/mste = Sp. Pg. It. imposta, t., 
an impost in arch. ; < L. impositus, inposittig, 
pp. of imponere, inponere, lay upon, impose : see 
i in/Mine, impose.] 1. That which is imposed or 
levied; a tax, tribute, or duty; particularly, a 
duty or tax laid by government on goods im- 
ported ; a customs-duty. To prevent interference 
with national commerce by the separate States, the Con- 
stitution of the United States (art. I. 10) provides that 
" no state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay 
any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what 
may he absolutely necessary for executing its inspection 
laws : and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid 
by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of 
the treasury of the United States.' 
