Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The act of impelling or the condition of being impelled.
- noun An impelling force; a thrust.
- noun Motion produced by an impelling force; momentum.
- noun A wish or urge from within; an impulse.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The act of impelling or imparting an impulse; impelling force or action.
- noun Moving or inciting influence on the mind; instigation; impulse.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The act of impelling or driving onward, or the state of being impelled; the sudden or momentary agency of a body in motion on another body; also, the impelling force, or impulse.
- noun Influence acting unexpectedly or temporarily on the mind; sudden motive or influence; impulse.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The act of
impelling or drivingonward , or the state of beingimpelled ; the sudden or momentaryagency of abody inmotion on another body; also, the impelling force, or impulse. - noun
Influence actingunexpectedly ortemporarily on themind ; suddenmotive orinfluence ;impulse .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a force that moves something along
- noun the act of applying force suddenly
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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These are for ever crying out, Why did he not employ the word impulsion, which is so well understood, rather than that of attraction, which is unintelligible?
Letter XV-On Attraction Voltaire 1909
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Sir Isaac might have answered these critics thus: First, you have as imperfect an idea of the word impulsion as of that of attraction; and in case you cannot conceive how one body tends towards the centre of another body, neither can you conceive by what power one body can impel another.
Letter XV-On Attraction Voltaire 1909
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The ideal horse has "impulsion" -- it eagerly moves forward on its own without being repeatedly pushed by heels, spurs, or a whip.
Chicago Reader 2010
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Sir Isaac might have answered these critics thus: -- "First, you have as imperfect an idea of the word impulsion as of that of attraction; and in case you cannot conceive how one body tends towards the centre of another body, neither can you conceive by what power one body can impel another.
Letters on England 1694-1778 Voltaire 1736
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The two conflicting emotions surged within her; their impulsion was a cause which threatened to exert a common effect, inasmuch as they urged her to leave Windebank.
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The first half of the episode was rather boring, insulting me with a rather weak and fake plot "impulsion".
Anime Nano! 2009
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The union that is presented in perception [of art] persists in the remaking of impulsion and thought.
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The trick is to maintain balance through impulsion, until the opposites blurs into peculiar stability.
Tories must tackle the failure of the state, not abolish it Julian Glover 2010
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You preferred to walk toward her before your steps were impelled, because you feared that impulsion would preclude rational choice.
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The union that is presented in perception [of art] persists in the remaking of impulsion and thought.
hernesheir commented on the word impulsion
In racing and dressage, the propulsive energy of a horse properly and energetically communicated from the hindquarters through the back into the athletic movements and gait.
April 19, 2011