Miscellaneous

The 2003 edition of Garner?s Modern American Usage says, ?Impact has traditionally been only a noun. In recent years, however, it has undergone a semantic shift that has allowed it to act as a verb.? But according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the shift isn?t so recent. The OED includes a definition of impact as a verb, and give examples of this usage dating back to the 17th century.

But if you use impact as a verb, please use it well?otherwise the word will lose some of its, well, impact. My Oxford American Dictionary carries this advice, which I endorse:

As a verb, impact remains rather vague and rarely carries the noun?s original sense of forceful collision. Careful writers are advised to use more exact verbs that will leave their reader in no doubt about the intended meaning. In addition, since the use of impact is associated with business and commercial writing, it has a peripheral status of ?jargon,? which makes it doubly disliked.