# Is impactful even a word?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-impactful-even-a-word/509553>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 10, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-impactful-even-a-word/509553 "2009-09-10T13:57:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-impactful-even-a-word/509553/1 "2009-09-10T13:57:26Z")

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## Here’s a quote for you:

## Judges said that UCS “provides a unified platform for hardware and networking that radically reduces the number of devices requiring setup, management, power and cooling, and cabling. … This offering will be hugely impactful in the marketplace.”

Is impactful actually a freaking word?  
I was skeptical of ‘impact’ turning into a verb, but this sounds stupid to me.

Cite: [subscription may be required] [http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid94\_gci1366963,00.html?track=NL-655&ad=724804&int=off&Offer=mn\_eh091009SRVTUNSC\_a&asrc=EM\_USC\_9185361&uid=9172689](http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid94_gci1366963,00.html?track=NL-655&ad=724804&int=off&Offer=mn_eh091009SRVTUNSC_a&asrc=EM_USC_9185361&uid=9172689)

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-impactful-even-a-word/509553/2 "2009-09-10T13:59:32Z")

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Yes. It may not be a good wood, or the best word in that context, but it’s a word. It’s even regularly formed according to the rules of standard English.

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-impactful-even-a-word/509553/3 "2009-09-10T14:30:45Z")

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It’s been in use for [at least 40 years](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impactful).