(We’ve written posts about the noun and verb “impact” before, most recently in 2010, so we won’t repeat ourselves.) The OED says “impactful” is derived from the noun “impact” and means “having a significant impact or effect”-which is essentially how standard dictionaries define it. We spotted examples like “impactful message” and “impactful headline” (both 1971) “impactful systems” (1972) “the way to be impactful” (1974) “impactful factor” (1975) “impactful paper” (a reference to the Bangkok Post, 1976) “our first trip and of course our most impactful” (1977), and a reference to documentaries that are “controversial, hardhitting, meaningful, impactful” (1979). Our searches of newspaper databases suggest that after a trickle of uses in the 1960s, the usage began to take off in the early ’70s. This is the OED’s second example: “It was resolved that initially the company should concentrate on producing an acceptable, exciting and impactful new house symbol” (from the Times, London, April 3, 1967). However, the word was rarely used during the next couple of decades. “The coronation of a pope, the non-stop European crisis-these and kindred events become right-of-way news on radio-more immediate and impactful than even the front page” (from the June 1939 issue of Commentator Magazine). The Oxford English Dictionary, an etymological dictionary based on historical evidence, gives this as its earliest known use: You may be surprised to learn that “impactful” was used as long ago as 1939. Webster’s New World doesn’t include “impactful” but it has an entry for “impactive” (“of or having an impact”). The adjective is recognized in Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries online as well as (which has a lengthy usage note on the subject). We’d prefer one with more impact-“powerful,” “persuasive,” “effective,” and so on. Is it a real word?Ī: Yes, “impactful” is a word, though it’s not a crowd pleaser. Q: I read an article recently in the Daily Beast that used “impactful” as an adjective.
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