imponerimpuesto (participio_de_pasado)
verbo transitivo
1 (poner) [+castigo, obligación] to impose; [+tarea] to set
imponer sanciones comerciales a un país to impose trade sanctions against o on a country
no quiero imponerte nada, solo darte un buen consejo I don't want to force you to do anything o I don't want to impose anything on you, just to give you some good advice
el juez le impuso una pena de tres años de prisión the judge gave him a three-year prison sentence; no le impusieron ningún castigo al portero the goalkeeper was not penalized
2 (conceder) [+medalla] to award
a la princesa le impusieron el nombre de Mercedes the princess was given the name Mercedes; the princess was named Mercedes
3 (hacer prevalecer) [+voluntad, costumbre] to impose; [+norma] to enforce; [+miedo] to instil; [+condición] to lay down; impose; [+enseñanza, uso] to make compulsory
trató de imponer su punto de vista he tried to impose his viewpoint
su trabajo le impone un ritmo de vida muy acelerado her work forces her to lead a very fast lifestyle
quieren imponer la enseñanza del catalán they want to make the teaching of Catalan compulsory
han impuesto por la fuerza el velo a las mujeres women have been forced to wear the veil; han impuesto a la fuerza la enseñanza religiosa they have enforced religious education
imponer la moda to set the trend
este año han impuesto la moda del acid jazz this year acid jazz is the trend; algunos creadores japoneses imponen su moda en Occidente some Japanese designers have successfully brought their fashions over to the West
imponer respeto to command respect
la autoridad siempre impone respeto authority always commands respect; tu padre me impone mucho respeto I find your father very intimidating
imponer el ritmo to set the pace
verbo intransitivo
1 (intimidar) [+persona] to command respect; [+edificio] to be imposing; [+arma] to be intimidating
su forma de hablar en público impone his style of public speaking commands respect
el castillo imponía un poco al entrar the castle was rather imposing as you went in; ¿no te impone dormir solo? don't you find it rather scary sleeping on your own?
verbo pronominal
imponerse1 (obligarse) [+horario, tarea] to set o.s.
nos hemos impuesto un horario de trabajo muy duro we've set ourselves a very heavy work schedule
2 (hacerse respetar) to assert one's authority; assert o.s.
sabe imponerse cuando hace falta he knows how to assert his authority o himself when necessary
imponerse a o sobre algn to assert one's authority over sb
el clero consiguió imponerse al Gobierno the clergy managed to assert its authority over the government; siempre acaba imponiéndose sobre sus hermanas he always ends up getting his own way with his sisters
3 (prevalecer) [+criterio] to prevail; [+moda] to become fashionable
al final se impuso un criterio de sabiduría wisdom prevailed in the end
se está imponiendo otra vez la ropa deportiva sportswear is coming into fashion again
la minifalda no ha llegado a imponerse esta temporada the mini-skirt hasn't caught on this season
4 (ser necesario) [+cambio] to be needed; [+conclusión] to be inescapable
se impone la necesidad de una gran reforma there is an urgent need for extensive reform; la conclusión se impone the conclusion is inescapable