impinging

im·pinge

I0059900 (ĭm-pĭnj′)v. im·pinged, im·ping·ing, im·ping·es v.intr.1. a. To encroach on or limit something, such as a right: "powerful institutions of government that inhibited free enterprise and impinged on commercial—and by extension private—liberties" (Greg Critser).b. Usage Problem To have an effect or influence: "Any consequence of a change in alleles ... is fair game for natural selection, so long as it impinges on the survival of the responsible allele, relative to its rivals" (Richard Dawkins).2. a. To collide or strike against something: Sound waves impinge on the eardrum.b. To advance over or press upon something: pain caused by a bone impinging upon a nerve.v.tr. To encroach upon; limit: "One of a democratic government's continuing challenges is finding a way to protect ... secrets without impinging the liberties that democracy exists to protect" (Christian Science Monitor).

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[Latin impingere : in-, against; see in-² + pangere, to fasten; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]

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im·pinge′ment n.im·ping′er n.Usage Note: The use of impinge meaning "to encroach; trespass," as in Americans dislike any policy that impinges on their liberty, is well established as standard. However, when impinge is used more loosely to mean "to have an effect" the Usage Panel is split. In our 2001 survey, only 47 percent of the Panel found the following sentence to be acceptable: What the recovered diary revealed about the villagers directly impinged on the lives of people living there many years later.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

impinging - the physical coming together of two or more things; "contact with the pier scraped paint from the hull"striking, contacthappening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent - an event that happenscollision, hit - (physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together; "the collision of the particles resulted in an exchange of energy and a change of direction"interlocking, meshing, mesh, engagement - contact by fitting together; "the engagement of the clutch"; "the meshing of gears"flick - a light sharp contact (usually with something flexible); "he gave it a flick with his finger"; "he felt the flick of a whip"impact - the striking of one body against anothertouch, touching - the event of something coming in contact with the body; "he longed for the touch of her hand"; "the cooling touch of the night air"