imposition
nounUS, UK /ˌɪm.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/ · IN /ɪmˈpoː.zɪ.ʃən/
Etymology From Middle English imposicioun, from Old French imposicion, from Latin impositio.
7 senses
- 1The act of imposing, laying on, affixing, enjoining…
- 2An unwelcome burden, presence, or obligation.
- 3That which is imposed, levied, or enjoined.
- 4A trick or deception put or laid on others.
- 5Arrangement of a printed product’s pages on the…
- 6A practice of laying hands on a person in a religious…
- 7A task imposed on a student as punishment.
1
The act of imposing, laying on, affixing, enjoining, inflicting, obtruding, and the like.
2
An unwelcome burden, presence, or obligation.
- They gathered soberly in the farthest recess of the ward and gossiped about him in malicious, offended undertones, rebelling against his presence as a ghastly imposition and resenting him malevolently for the nauseating truth of which he was bright reminder.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169:
- He expunges his own anguish at his diagnosis with HIV and the impositions that have claimed his freedom.1991 May 4, Mary Dowd, “Risky Business”, in Gay Community News, page 7:
3
That which is imposed, levied, or enjoined.
4
A trick or deception put or laid on others.
5
Media, Printing, Publishing Arrangement of a printed product’s pages on the printer's sheet so as to have the pages in proper order in the final product.
6
Lifestyle, Religion A practice of laying hands on a person in a religious ceremony; used e.g. in confirmation and ordination.
7
UK A task imposed on a student as punishment.
School or university slang
- Synonyms
- imposure, infliction, obtrusion, burden, charge, enjoinder, injunction, tax, cheating, deception, delusion, fraud, imposture, trick
- Derived terms
- impositional, reimposition, superimposition