Imprinting was the act of an infant of a species, soon after its birth, identifying an adult as its parent.

In 2154, Captain Jonathan Archer once suffered what Phlox called "reverse-imprinting" when a substance ejected from an Xindi-Insectoid egg made Archer believe he was the "caretaker" of an entire Xindi hatchery. (ENT: "Hatchery")