impressionable

UK/ɪmˈpɹɛ.ʃən.ə.bəl/US/ɪmˈpɹɛ.ʃən.ə.bəl/

adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #8,917 of 15,258leans spoken

Impressionable means easily influenced by others. An impressionable age, young and impressionable, impressionable minds.

It is used almost entirely about the young, and at an impressionable age is the fixed phrase. The image behind it is wax: something soft enough to take an impression, which is a fair description of how learning works at any age.

Definitions of impressionable

1adjectiveimpressionableEasily influenced by others.C1
“Violent films can have a bad influence on impressionable young children.”

impressionable is a quality.

Where it comes from

French impressionnable comes from impression, from Latin imprimere, to press into.

French
impressionnable
English, today
impressionable

From French impressionnable. From French impressionnable, equivalent to impression + -able. See also impressible.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

impressionable in the wild

In the story, an impressionable young boy and his ignorant, fearful grandfather visit Atlanta.
The Artificial Nigger
Fairbanks, a prosperous farmer and former Selectman but also an "impressionable, rather excitable man," was quickly arrested on November 6, 1798.
Benjamin Fairbanks
Band member Sam Hales said that the following song was written about the uncontrollable, impressionable, unforgivable Tahlia Crossley: "I'll never forget the day I wrote this song.
Feel the Way I Do

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

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