Poll: It's okay to use "impact" as a verb.
It's okay to use "impact" as a verb. |
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Votes: 786
Comments: 10
Added: December 2004
Comments:
| rhapsomatrics - 7th February 2005 20:38 |
| The word is phonetically polysemous.Bi-syllabic words like this form their meaning from pronunciation(stress).Any bi-syllable(or most) which is stressed on the first syllable or which places the primary stress on the first syllable is usually a noun.But where the primary stress falls on the second syllable the word becomes a verb....eg..IMport(noun)...imPORT(ve rb)...PROduce(noun)...proDUCE(verb). ..IMpact(noun)...imPACT(verb) |
| SAL - 18th September 2007 16:40 |
| While I agree that language evolves, I abhore the conversion of nouns to verbs simply because the word must be initially misused in order to ever make it into common speech in the first place. The fact that most of these conversions are because of use in business and press circles further exacerbates my ire since many of these people are trying to be innovative and cute as opposed to correct and concise. How can educators enforce the proper rules of grammar if those rules can be changed according to anyone's whim? Are we that afraid to tell someone that they are wrong? |
| Vidableek - 3rd October 2008 15:34 |
| I think it's fine in the rigth context. "When the meteor impacted" is fine. "Then the baseball will impact" is fine. But "I am currently impacting" is not. |
| Scott - 5th May 2009 16:37 |
| I have to agree with Sal - although I would add that while language evolves, it can also DE-evolve (though I am inventing a word) and degrade. We seem to be allowing the English language to simultaneously evolve and create more meaning, and degrade such that it loses structure and becomes less "universal". English is thus becoming increasingly difficult to understand from one place and context to the next! |
| nete - 20th September 2009 19:36 |
| i think impact isnt a verb so why do we need to do that |
| ian - 22nd December 2009 19:29 |
| I don't generally use impact as a vt, but it has been used as one since the 1600s. Therefore: verb. |
| Shamilla - 5th March 2010 17:21 |
| I am sure that we can use impact as a verb as well. The meaning is "have effect" |
| Nadir Qureshi - 9th March 2010 00:12 |
| Hello my dear fellows well how can you say that impact is not an verb i think its depend on senerio. |
| Henry - 24th May 2010 11:52 |
| In a section on "good usage versus common usage" (Section 5.202), the Chicago Manual of Style recommends that we resist using this word as a verb, except in a physical context. |
| tim.mantyla@gmail.com - 17th August 2010 18:29 |
| Merriam-Webster states that “impact” originated as a Latin verb. It was first found in English writings as a transitive verb (1601), then only later as a noun, in 1781. Its usage is reverting to the original. I'll bet that most who detest its impact as a verb don’t realize that. How does that impact you?! I find "impact" annoying simply because it's so vague. One can almost always find a better, more specific alternative for either the noun or verb--one with far more clout, weight, power, zing, zest or juice. See what I mean? Better alternatives hit you over the head, devastate, crush or smash. Impact...uh, barely impacts the listener. |
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