impôr

Impôr is a Portuguese verb used transitively to indicate that something is placed, demanded, or imposed on someone or on a system. Its senses include imposing rules or laws, imposing taxes or charges, imposing conditions, or imposing another’s will. In a broader sense, it can describe the act of asserting control or insisting on acceptance of something, sometimes with a coercive nuance and sometimes by stronger persuasion.

Etymology: impôr comes from Latin imponere, formed by in- “upon” + ponere “to place.” In contemporary Portuguese the infinitive is impôr in European Portuguese and impor in Brazilian Portuguese, reflecting orthographic and regional variation. The verb is irregular and shows irregular stem changes across tenses and moods, rather than following a single regular pattern.

Conjugation and basic forms: impôr is irregular. The infinitive is impôr (PT-Portugal) or impor (PT-BR). The participle is imposto, and the gerund is impondo. Present indicative forms include eu imponho, tu impões, ele impõe, nós impomos, vós impõem, eles impõem, with regional variation in spelling and pronunciation. Other tenses combine the root with standard periphrasis or altered stems, and the past tense includes forms such as impus, impusemos, and impuseram in common usage.

Derived terms and usage notes: related nouns include imposição (the act of imposing) and imposto (tax or levy, depending on context). The verb is typically used to describe formal actions by authorities (imposing laws or taxes) or more abstract pressure (imposing one’s will). It is distinct from measures that are voluntary or consensual and is frequently employed in legal, political, or managerial discourse.

See also: imposição, imposto, imposição de leis, política fiscal.