Imposé

Imposé is a French term that functions as both the past participle of the verb imposer and an adjective. It conveys the sense of something that has been placed on someone or something by authority, or of something that is required or obligatory, such as rules, obligations, conditions, or taxes.

As an adjective, imposé describes nouns and agrees in gender and number. The forms are imposé (masculine singular), imposée (feminine singular), imposés (masculine plural), and imposées (feminine plural). Examples include une règle imposée, des règles imposées, or les conditions imposées par la loi.

As a past participle, imposé is used with the auxiliary avoir in compound tenses to indicate actions of imposing. For instance, j'ai imposé des règles means “I imposed rules.” When used attributively or in a passive-like construction, it often appears in its contracted or feminine/plural forms to agree with the noun: les règles imposées par la loi.

Etymology and related forms: imposer, from Latin imponere (“to place upon”), evolved in French to mean to impose, to levy, or to require. Related words include l’imposition (the act of imposing or the tax itself) and les impôts (taxes).

In usage, imposé appears frequently in legal, contractual, and administrative contexts, describing obligations or measures that have been established by an authority. In English-language contexts, it is commonly translated as "imposed" or "imposed upon." See also imposer, imposition, impôt.