Emily Dickinson Lexicon

impossible, adj. [Fr. < L.] (webplay: God, men, possible, should).

1. Unfeasible; impracticable; not accessible; not able to be done.
2. Unbearable; not endurable; [fig.] too heavy to lift.
3. Phrase. “Impossible to feign”: unfeasible to produce; a person cannot feign; one cannot pretend to have; a mortal being cannot simulate.

impotence, n. [Fr. < L. impotentia.]

1. Inability; condition of lacking power.
2. Disability; impairment.

impotent, adj. [Fr. < L. impotentem.] (webplay: nature).

1. Inactive; passive; imperturbable; not affected; at peace; [fig.] not publishing; not actively seeking fame as a poet.
2. Impossible; futile; not feasible; not achievable; out of the question; [fig.] arduous; extremely difficult.
3. Unable; incapable; lacking power; not being able; without the ability; [fig.] indisposed; not inclined; not in a position.
4. Weak; feeble; ineffectual.
5. Meaningless; insignificant; not interesting.
6. Phrase. “impotent to end”: unstoppable; impossible to cause to desist; [the “Being” is not “impotent”; rather, it is not possible for anyone to “end” what the “Being … has begun.”]

impotent, adv. [see impotent, adj.]

Meaninglessly; insignificantly; [fig.] uselessly; futilely; pointlessly; without being able to shed warmth and light.

impoverish, v. [OFr < L. 'make poor'.]

Diminish strength; exhaust energy; cause poverty; reduce to indigence; seem to take away hope; [fig.] fade.

impregnability, n. [see impregnable, adj.] (webplay: moved).

Invulnerability; invincibility; being unconquerable; strong defense; ability to function well; [fig.] success; victory; endurance.

impregnable, adj. [Fr.] (webplay: assault, fortress, moved, taken).

1. Impenetrable; imperceptible; [fig.] invisible; hidden; not seeable; not revealed; [metaphor] puzzling; unclear; incomprehensible.
2. Unassailable; inviolable; intact; not reducible; [fig.] divine; sacrosanct; eternal; everlasting.
3. Invincible; incorruptible; [fig.] everlasting; not really subject to death.
4. Not subject; not subservient; not amenable; not yielding; not succumbing; not susceptible.

imprint (-ed), v. [OFr < L. impreměre.] (webplay: father's).

Impress; mark; stamp.

imprisonment, n. [OFr.]

1. Incarceration; solitary confinement; banishment to a place; [fig.] seclusion.
2. Quarantine; house arrest; [fig.] bonds; constraint.

improving, verbal adj. [Anglo Fr. emprower.]

Profitable; advantageous; beneficial; salutary; healthy; stimulating.