What is the Latin word for impose?

The usual Latin words for “impose” are impōnō, iniungō, irrogō; also taxō, multus, poena. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“impose” in Latin

impōnōto place, lay, set, or put on, in, into, over, or upon; to impose upon, put upon, lay upon, inflict upon, fix, put, enjo iniungōto join or fasten, unite; to charge, impose (a burden); to enjoin or charge irrogōto propose, demand or call for something against someone; to impose, inflict; appoint, ordain; to exercise taxōto feel, to touch sharply, to handle; to charge, to twit, to reproach, to censure; to rate, to appraise, to value, to es multusmuch; many poenapenalty, punishment; hardship, torment; execution tribuōto grant, bestow, assign, attribute; to yield, give up, concede, allow; to divide, share, distribute

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

impose

Lay upon (figuratively), imponere (the troper word; e.g. taxes, burdens, tasks, laws, names, a necessity, etc.): injungere (e.g., taxes, a burden): irrogare (e.g., multam [Vid: FINE]; poenam; also a tax, tributum, Plin.); all alicui aliquid. To impose duties on anybody, alicui officia injungere: to impose upon the states the necessity of carrying corn (into the camp), vecturas frumenti civitatibus describere (according to a written scale of the amount to be delivered by each). To impose upon anybody the necessity, etc., alicui necessitatem imponere (Cic., Phil., 4, 5) or afferre (Cic.): to impose a name, alicui nomen imponere or cognomen indere; cognomine appellare aliquem: to impose silence (on any subject), aliquid or de aliqua re tacere aliquem jubere; de aliqua re taceri velle: to impose laws upon a state, civitati leges (per vim) imponere. A fine was imposed on all the states, multa in singulas civitates imposita (Liv.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for impose?: The usual Latin words for “impose” are impōnō, iniungō, irrogō; also taxō, multus, poena. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.