under the impression


Thinking, assuming, or believing something, as in I was under the impression that they were coming today. This idiom often suggests that the idea or belief one had is mistaken. [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.