- impact
- impact n Impact, impingement, collision, clash, shock, concussion, percussion, jar, jolt mean a forcible or enforced contact between two or more things, especially a contact so violent as to affect seriously one or the other or all of the persons or things involved.Impact, though it often means this and no more, may be used more generally to imply contact between two things, one of which at least is driven or impelled in the direction of the other and produces a definite effect on it, though not necessarily a physical effect or one that results in injury{
the impact of a hammer upon a nail
}{a target constructed to resist the impact of a bullet
}{live in an age where every mind feels the impact of new ideas
}{it is not electricity which we see, it is the air rendered incandescent by the vehemence of the impacts of the electrons against its molecules— Darrow
}{the impact of world war on the lives of countless millions— R. H. Jackson
}Impingement often means little more than impact, but distinctively it may imply a sharper or more forcible contact than impact{each little impingement of sound struck on her consciousness— Langley
}or may carry, as impact does not, a suggestion of encroachment{the impingement of scientific theories upon religious beliefs
}Collision implies the coming together of two or sometimes more things with such force that both or all are more or less damaged or their progress is seriously impeded{a collision has occurred when any part of the automobile comes in contact with another object, whether moving or stationary— Gee
}{his uneasiness grew by the recollection of the forty tons of dynamite in the body of the Ferndale; not the sort of cargo one thinks of with equanimity in connection with a threatened collision— Conrad
}Collision may be used when the things which come together so as to seriously affect one another are immaterial rather than physical entities{discrepancies between ideas and collisions between beliefs had to be reconciled and mediated— De Kiewiet
}{the collision of contrary false principles— Warburton
}Clash primarily applies to the sharp discordant sounds produced by an impact or series of impacts between two or more bodies, especially metallic bodies; it is often used in preference to collision when two or more things come into contact with one another in such a manner that noises of crashing and jangling are more apparent than the destruction or ruin wrought{the clash of swords in battle
}{the clash of cymbals, and the rolling of drums— Macaulay
}Clash, also, is used more often of immaterial things (as beliefs, theories, and ideas) which are irreconcilable or incompatible and lead to violent conflict or controversy{a clash of creeds
}{in Le Misanthrope . . . there is ... a clash . . . between the high-strung demands of Alceste and the unbending reasonableness of the social standard— Alexander
}{an appeal to the workers and employers to be good boys and not paralyze the industry of the nation by the clash of their quite irreconcilable interests— Shaw
}Shock denotes the effect (as shaking, rocking, agitating, or stunning) produced by an impact or collision. It may imply a physical, mental, or emotional effect, but in every case it carries a strong suggestion of something that strikes or hits with force and often with violence{he stood the shock of a whole host of foes— Addison
}{the shock of cataract seas that snap the three-decker's oaken spine— Tennyson
}{the soft shock of wizened apples falling . . . upon the hilly rock— Millay
}{for strong emotion, however, the shock of sudden external stimulus is necessary— Ellis
}Concussion, found more often than shock in learned and technical use, may mean a blow or collision but more often suggests the shattering or disrupting effects of a collision or explosion or the stunning weakening effects of a heavy blow{the air seemed rent apart by a concussion like the firing of a great cannon— Chippendale
}{was so careful lest his descent should shake the earth and awake the doctor, that his feet shrank from the concussion— Shaw
}{concussion of the brain is actually a paralysis of the functions of the brain— Fishbein
}Percussion implies a deliberate or intentional striking, knocking, or tapping for the sake of something (as a sound, an explosion, or a vibration) produced by the impact of such a stroke, knock, or tap; thus, percussion instruments in an orchestra are those played by striking (as a drum, a gong, cymbals, bells, or a tambourine); a percussion bullet contains a substance that is exploded by percussion; a doctor by percussion (that is, by tapping or striking the chest or abdomen) discovers by the sounds produced the condition of a patient's lungs or abdominal organs.Jar applies to the painful and disturbing but not necessarily injurious shaking suffered as a result of a collision, clash, shock, or concussion{the fall gave him a jar, but nothing worse
}{we felt only the jar of the earthquake
}{the howl of the wind and the crash and jar of seas striking the ship's hull— Crofts
}{must have suffered some rude jars during the long years in which she had observed her husband coarsen— Ingamells
}Jolt carries a stronger implication of jerking out of place than of shaking and therefore carries a clearer suggestion of loss or near-loss of balance{received a jolt when the car ran over a hole in the road
}{the stern criticism gave him the first jolt he had ever had
}{lenses should also be protected from jars and jolts— Kodak Reference Handbook
}
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
