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[ verb ] compel to behave in a certain way
Synonyms Examples "Social relations impose courtesy" Used in print (Chicago Daily Tribune,...)Britain began designing the ship in 1956 but got nowhere until the American government decided to end a ban on sharing military secrets with Britain that had been imposed after Fuchs blabbed . (James J. Maguire, "A Family Affair"...)But this in_turn means that decisions are not merely imposed from the top but that there be some actual mechanism of faculty participation . (The New York Times...)Instead of her old confidence in the simplest , purest , most moving musical expression , Miss_Schwarzkopf is letting herself be tempted by the classic sin of artistic pride - that subtle vanity that sometimes misleads a great artist into thinking that he or she can somehow better the music by bringing to it something extra , some personal dramatic touch imposed from_the_outside . (Huston Smith, "Interfaith Communication: The...)Again , India has imposed formidable barriers against the entrance of additional missionaries , and fanatical Hindu parties are expected to seek further action against Christians once the influence making_for tolerance due_to Nehru and his followers is gone . (An Act for International Development, A Summary...)Neither growth nor a development program can be imposed on a country ; it must express the nation 's own will and goal . Related terms |
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[ verb ] impose something unpleasant
Synonyms Examples : "The principal visited his rage on the students" Used in print (Edward P. Lawton, "Northern Liberals and Southern...)Regardless_of rights and wrongs , a population and an area appropriate to a pre World_War_I , great_power have been , following conquest , ruled against their will by a neighboring people , and have had imposed upon them social and economic controls they dislike . (Max F. Millikan and Donald L. M. Blackmer,...)If modernization programs are imposed from above , without the understanding and cooperation of the people , they will encounter grave difficulties . (Tristram Coffin, Not to the Swift....)Poverty imposes a kind of chastity on the ambitious . Related terms communicate order clamp give intrude foist infliction imposition |
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[ verb ] impose and collect
Synonyms Examples "levy a fine" Used in print (LeRoy Fothergill, "Biological Warfare", in Peter...)Biological agents are , moreover , suitable for delivery through enemy sabotage which imposes many problems in defense . |
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