Impeach

English

Verb

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

1. To hinder.
2. To bring a legal proceeding against a public official, asserting that because he or she committed some offense, he or she should be removed from office.
   • President Clinton was impeached by the House in November 1999, but since the Senate acquitted him, he was not removed from office.
3. To discredit an individual or group with presumed expertise.

Derived terms

• impeachment

Thesaurus

accuse, allege, anathematize, anathemize, animadvert on, arraign, article, asperse, attack, belittle, blame, book, bring accusation, bring charges, bring to book, call into question, call to account, cast aspersions on, cast blame upon, cast reflection upon, censure, challenge, charge, cite, complain, complain against, condemn, criminate, cry down, cry out against, cry out on, cry shame upon, damn, declaim, decry, denounce, denunciate, deprecate, discredit, disparage, fasten on, fasten upon, file a claim, finger, fulminate against, hang something on, have up, implicate, imply, impugn, impute, incriminate, inculpate, indict, inform against, inform on, insinuate, inveigh against, lay charges, lodge a complaint, lodge a plaint, malign, pin on, prefer charges, press charges, pull up, put on report, reflect upon, report, reprehend, reproach, reprobate, shake up, slander, take to task, task, taunt with, tax, twit, vilify

Etymology

French empêcher, hinder, from Latin impedicare, fetter

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːtʃ