Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An impelling force; an impetus.
- noun The motion produced by such a force.
- noun A sudden wish or urge that prompts an unpremeditated act or feeling; an abrupt inclination.
- noun A motivating force or tendency.
- noun Electronics A surge of electrical power in one direction.
- noun Physics The product obtained by multiplying the average value of a force by the time during which it acts. The impulse equals the change in momentum produced by the force in this time interval.
- noun Physiology The electrochemical transmission of a signal along a nerve fiber that produces an excitatory or inhibitory response at a target tissue, such as a muscle or another nerve.
- adjective Characterized by impulsiveness or acting on impulse.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To give an impulse to; incite; instigate.
- noun Force communicated suddenly; the effect of an impelling force; a thrust; a push.
- noun Specifically In mech.: An infinite force or action enduring for an infinitely short time, so as to produce a finite momentum.
- noun The resultant of all such forces acting on a body at any instant, resolved into a couple and a force along the axis of that couple.
- noun The momentum produced by a force in any time.
- noun A stimulation of the mind to action; the impelling force of appetite, desire, aversion, or other emotion; especially, a sudden disposition to perform some act which is not the result of reflection; sudden determination.
- noun Any communication of force; any compelling action; instigation.
- noun A mental impression; an idea.
- noun Shock; onset.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To impel; to incite.
- noun The act of impelling, or driving onward with sudden force; impulsion; especially, force so communicated as to produced motion suddenly, or immediately.
- noun The effect of an impelling force; motion produced by a sudden or momentary force.
- noun (Mech.) The action of a force during a very small interval of time; the effect of such action.
- noun A mental force which simply and directly urges to action; hasty inclination; sudden motive; momentary or transient influence of appetite or passion; propension; incitement
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
thrust ; apush ; a suddenforce thatimpels . - noun A
wish orurge , particularly asudden oneprompting action . - noun physics The
integral offorce overtime . - verb obsolete To
impel ; toincite .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber
- noun an impelling force or strength
- noun an instinctive motive
- noun (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
- noun the act of applying force suddenly
- noun a sudden desire
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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As regards studies of the abnormalities of the sexual impulse, under the name of _paradoxical sexual impulse_ cases have been published in which that impulse manifested itself at an age of life in which it is normally non-existent -- old age and childhood.
The Sexual Life of the Child Albert Moll 1900
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However, he says, today the main impulse is to try to make the books as distinct as possible because they need to stay on the shelves longer.
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I do have to consciously stop myself from even asking, but the impulse is always there.
Hair Petting 2007
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What this means is that your eating isn't eternally out of control; it's out of control only at certain times, during what I call impulse moments.
Pragmatic Compendium 2008
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What this means is that your eating isn't eternally out of control; it's out of control only at certain times, during what I call impulse moments.
Pragmatic Compendium 2008
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What this means is that your eating isn't eternally out of control; it's out of control only at certain times, during what I call impulse moments.
Pragmatic Compendium 2008
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SIEGEL: Because our impulse is to want to see that zero balance on some loan, even if it's a relatively cheap loan that is doing us less harm than another loan.
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If I think of something short and pithy, my first impulse is to post a simple Twitter tweet rather than do a long weblog entry.
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If I think of something short and pithy, my first impulse is to post a simple Twitter tweet rather than do a long weblog entry.
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Not acting on our every impulse is supposedly what makes us different from animals. crooked politics
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He was once head of product development for Unilever’s take-home ice cream – that is, the big tubs and desserts that you don’t eat on the go (in the ice cream world, all products are divided into take-home or impulse, which refers to Cornettos or anything on a stick).
The Golden Age of British Ice Cream Vittles 2026
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