impinge

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“
When science does impinge, the public responds based on two basic questions, both of which are just as much emotional as rational:

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. intransitive verb To collide or strike: Sound waves impinge on the eardrum.
  2. intransitive verb To encroach; trespass: Do not impinge on my privacy.
  3. transitive verb To encroach upon: "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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Examples (36)

  • One of the electrodes is connected with the diaphragm on which the sound-waves impinge, and the vibration of this diaphragm causes the pressure between the electrodes to be correspondingly varied, and thereby effects a variation in the current, resulting in the production of impulses which actuate the receiving magnet. —  Edison, His Life and Inventions
  • One of the electrodes is connected with the diaphragm on which the sound-waves impinge, and the vibrations of this diaphragm cause corresponding variations in pressure between the electrodes, and thereby effect similar variations in the current which is passing over the line to the receiving end. —  Edison, His Life and Inventions
  • "I think that they impinge on the status and the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman." —  Stupid Evil Bastard
  • The driver's ongoing task is to maintain the vehicle in the lane: a task hindered by all the external forces that impinge on the vehicle such as imperfections of road surface, wind gusts, and imbalances in the vehicle itself.
  • At the same time, none of the major powers is prepared to make any concessions to its rivals that will impinge on its own economic interests, making any agreement of substance all but impossible. —  Countercurrents.org
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

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

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin impingere, inpingere (later Italian impingere, impignere = Portuguese impingir), past participle impactus, inpactus, push, drive, or strike at, into, or upon, from in, in, on, + pingere, strike: see pact. Cf. impact.
 

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/ɪmˈpɪndʒ/
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