impressment

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impressment The Advertiser was edited by Samuel Adams for artisans and laborers fired up by their successful resistance to impressment—the Navy’s effort to grab men for forced service—and concerned about rising poverty in the postwar depression. Time, 7 July 2025 In particular, the U.S. government protested British interference with its foreign trade and the Royal Navy’s practice of impressment, which meant forcing American sailors to serve aboard British warships. Lawrence B.a. Hatter / Made By History, TIME, 4 Feb. 2025 The United States declared war on Great Britain after more incidents of naval impressment, trade restrictions, and the British attack of the Chesapeake. Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 14 Nov. 2024 In fact, by the late summer of 1812, the British had eliminated the orders in council, leaving impressment as the only unresolved issue of any consequence. Foreign Affairs, 31 Oct. 2012 The crew was a combustible mix of regular sailors, marines and impressed crewmen — impressment being a kind of slavery wherein men were kidnapped and forced to serve for an indefinite period. Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2023 Jefferson’s accession to the presidency coincided with demands for higher payments and the impressment of a U.S. Navy frigate, the USS George Washington, by the Dey of Algiers as a courier vessel. John Yoo, National Review, 15 Jan. 2020 These distinctive tattoos were then recorded in their personal Seamen’s Protection Certificates, which were used as identification and to help stave off impressment. Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian, 28 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impressment
seizure
Noun
  • The charges arose from what law enforcement officials described as a nationwide operation that also resulted in the seizure of financial accounts, websites and laptops that were used to carry out the fraud.
    CBS News, CBS News, 1 July 2025
  • The wall text dutifully mentions the seizure of these works, which made their way to collectors such as Nelson Rockefeller through the international marketplace.
    Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 30 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Impressment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impressment. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on impressment

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!