impulse
impulse Lexical Profile
impulse Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A sudden, strong, and unreflective urge or desire to act.
"She bought the vintage jacket on a sudden impulse while walking past the boutique."
A driving or motivating force; an impetus that causes something to develop or become more active.
"The discovery of new mineral deposits gave a fresh impulse to the region's economic growth."
A pulse of electrical energy or a brief wave of excitation transmitted along a nerve fiber or through an electronic circuit.
"Optic nerves transmit visual impulses directly from the retina to the brain."
A sudden application of physical force that produces a change in the momentum of a body, measured as the product of force and the time interval over which it acts.
"In classical mechanics, the net impulse applied to an object equals the change in its linear momentum."
• verb
To give an impulse or motivating force to; to drive forward or impel.
"A deep curiosity about the natural world impulsed her early scientific research."
• Rhymes for impulse
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 17th century from Latin impulsus, meaning 'a push against' or 'pressure,' derived from the past participle of impellere ('to drive forward or impel'), combining in- ('upon') and pellere ('to drive').