impresionar
“impresionar” means “to impress” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
to impress
Also: to wow, to make an impression
📝 In Action
Ella quiere impresionar a sus nuevos jefes.
A2She wants to impress her new bosses.
Me impresionó mucho tu habilidad con la guitarra.
B1I was very impressed by your skill with the guitar.
to shock
Also: to affect
📝 In Action
La noticia del accidente nos impresionó a todos.
B2The news of the accident shocked all of us.
Me impresionó ver la ciudad tan vacía.
B2It shocked/affected me to see the city so empty.
Subjunctive
Imperfect Subjunctive
Present Subjunctive
Indicative
Preterite
Imperfect
Present
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✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: impresionar
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence means 'He wants to impress her'?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
From the Latin 'impressio', which literally means 'to press into'. It originally referred to physical stamping or printing, eventually evolving to mean 'leaving a mark' on someone's mind or heart.
First recorded: 13th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'impresionar' always a positive thing?
Not necessarily. While it often means someone did something great, it can also describe being shocked or deeply affected by sad or scary news.
Is this verb regular?
Yes! It follows the standard pattern for all verbs ending in -ar, making it very easy to conjugate in all tenses.