impeach

English

Alternative forms

• empeach (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English empechen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman empecher, from Old French empeechier (“to hinder”), from Latin impedicāre (“to fetter”). Cognate with French empêcher (“to prevent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpiːt͡ʃ/
• Rhymes: -iːtʃ

  • Audio (Southern England)

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Verb

impeach (third-person singular simple present impeaches, present participle impeaching, simple past and past participle impeached)

1. To hinder, impede, or prevent.
   • 1612, John Davies, Discoverie of the True Causes why Ireland was never entirely subdued:

     These ungracious practices of his sons did impeach his journey to the Holy Land.

   • 1655, James Howell, “To my Father”, in Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ. Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren. […], 3rd edition, volume (please specify the page), London: […] Humphrey Mos[e]ley, […], →OCLC:

     I was afraid the same defluxion of Salt Rheum which fell from my Temples into my Throat in Oxford, and distilling upon the Uvula, impeached my Utterance a little to this Day

2. To bring a legal proceeding against a public official.

   President Clinton was impeached by the House in November 1998, but since the Senate acquitted him, he was not removed from office.

3. To charge with impropriety; to discredit; to call into question.
4. (law) To demonstrate in court that a testimony under oath contradicts another testimony from the same person, usually one taken during deposition.

Derived terms

• impeachment

Translations

to hinder

• Bulgarian: препятствам (bg) (prepjatstvam), забавям (bg) (zabavjam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 阻礙／阻碍 (zh) (zǔ'ài), 阻止 (zh) (zǔzhǐ)

• Finnish: estää (fi)
• French: empêcher (fr), entraver (fr)
• German: verhindern (de)
• Japanese: 阻止する (そしする, soshi suru), 遅滞させる (ちたいさせる, chitai saseru), 妨害する (ぼうがいする, bōgai suru), 妨げる (ja) (さまたげる, samatageru)
• Kazakh: күрмеу (kürmeu)
• Russian: препя́тствовать (ru) impf (prepjátstvovatʹ), меша́ть (ru) impf (mešátʹ)
• Turkish: mani olmak (tr), önlemek (tr)

to bring legal proceeding against public official

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: абвінава́чваць impf (abvinaváčvacʹ), абвінава́ціць pf (abvinavácicʹ)
• Bulgarian: обвинявам (bg) (obvinjavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 彈劾／弹劾 (zh) (tánhé)

• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Esperanto: akuzi
• Finnish: syyttää virkarikoksesta, nostaa virkasyyte
• German: anklagen (de)
• Hebrew: התחיל תהליך הדחה m (hitkhíl tahalíkh hadakhá)
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Icelandic: kæra (is)
• Japanese: 弾劾する (だんがいする, dangai suru)
• Kazakh: импичмент жариялау (impiçment jariälau)
• Korean: 탄핵 (ko) (tanhaek)
• Portuguese: impedir (pt), impugnar (pt), impichar (pt) (Brazil)
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: обвиня́ть (ru) impf (obvinjátʹ), предъявля́ть обвине́ние impf (predʺjavljátʹ obvinénije)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: itham etmek (tr), suçlamak (tr)
• Vietnamese: luận tội (vi), đàn hặc (vi)

to charge with impropriety

• Bulgarian: дискредитирам (bg) (diskreditiram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 控告 (zh) (kònggào), 質疑／质疑 (zh) (zhìyí)

• Esperanto: akuzi
• Finnish: kyseenalaistaa (fi)
• French: discréditer (fr)
• German: in Verruf bringen, schlechtmachen (de)
• Japanese: 疑う (ja) (うたがう, utagau)
• Russian: обвиня́ть (ru) impf (obvinjátʹ), осужда́ть (ru) impf (osuždátʹ)
• Vietnamese: gièm pha (vi), nói xấu (vi), bôi nhọ (vi), chê trách (vi)

to demonstrate a contradiction

• German: die Glaubwürdigkeit anzweifeln

Anagrams

• aphemic