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Another word for impulse

a-z
Noun

  1. Something that causes and encourages a given response

    See also:

    cause

  2. An impulsive, often illogical turn of mind

      1. An unusual, unexpected, or fanciful idea; a whim.
      2. Quaint, fanciful, or playful humor:
      1. A sudden or capricious idea; a fancy.
      2. Arbitrary thought or impulse:
      3. A vertical horse-powered drum used as a hoist in a mine.
      1. An unpredictable development or change of circumstances:
      2. An extravagant or erratic notion or action:
      1. A belief or opinion:
      2. A mental image; an idea or conception:
      3. An impulse or whim:
      1. A migraine.
      2. A caprice or fancy.
      3. Depression or unhappiness:
      1. The quality that makes something laughable or amusing; funniness:
      2. That which is intended to induce laughter or amusement:
      3. The ability to perceive, enjoy, or express what is amusing, comical, incongruous, or absurd:
      1. A thing or occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular:
      2. An abnormally formed organism, especially one regarded as a curiosity.
      3. A sudden capricious turn of mind; a whim:
      1. Highly decorated:
      2. Complex or intricate:
      3. Elegantly fashionable or sophisticated:
      1. Unduly favorable estimation of one's own abilities or worth; overly positive self-regard.
      2. Estimation or opinion of something, especially when favorable.
      3. A witty expression or fanciful idea:
      1. An impulsive change of mind:
      2. An inclination to change one's mind impulsively:
      3. A sudden, unpredictable action or change:
      1. (obsolete) An outbreak; a caprice; a whim.
      2. Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
      1. Any of numerous winged, hairy-bodied, usually stinging hymenopteran insects of the superfamily Apoidea, including both solitary species and social species such as the honeybees, and characterized by sucking and chewing mouthparts for gathering nectar and pollen.
      2. A social gathering where people combine work, competition, and amusement:
    Idioms:
    See also:

    thoughts

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for impulse

Noun

  1. An impelling force

      1. The act or an instance of moving; a change in place or position.
      2. A particular manner of moving.
      3. A change in the location of troops, ships, or aircraft for tactical or strategic purposes.
      1. To strike or collide with:
      2. To cause to knock against an obstacle:
      3. To knock to a new position; shift:
      1. A violent collision, impact, or explosion, or the force or movement resulting from this:
      2. Something that suddenly causes emotional distress:
      3. A sudden feeling of distress:
      1. To push quickly, forcefully, or roughly:
      2. To put (something) roughly in a place:
      3. To push someone or something with force.
      1. A quantity used to measure the motion of a body, equal to the product of the body's mass and its velocity.
      2. The force or energy exhibited by a moving body:
      3. The driving force or advancing strength of a development or course of events:
      1. The act or an instance of striking, as with the hand, a weapon, or a tool; a blow or impact.
      2. The striking of a bell or gong.
      3. The sound so produced.
      1. The process of driving or propelling.
      2. A driving or propelling force.
      1. The act of impelling or the condition of being impelled:
      2. An impelling force; a thrust.
      3. Motion produced by an impelling force; momentum.
      1. Something, such as the fear of punishment or the expectation of reward, that induces action or motivates effort.
      2. Serving to induce or motivate:
      1. Something causing or regarded as causing a response.
      2. An agent, action, or condition that elicits or accelerates a physiological or psychological activity or response.
      3. Something that incites or rouses to action; an incentive:
      1. The act or process of motivating:
      2. The state of being motivated:
      3. Something that motivates; an inducement, reason, or goal:
      1. To move swiftly; hurry:
      2. To act with great haste:
      3. To make a sudden or swift attack or charge:
      1. The act or process of augmenting.
      2. The condition of being augmented.
      3. Something that augments.
      1. The act of pressing.
      2. The condition of being pressed.
      3. The application of continuous force by one body on another that it is touching; compression.
      1. The action of pulsating.
      2. A single beat, throb, or vibration.
      1. The rhythmical throbbing of arteries produced by the regular contractions of the heart, especially as palpated at the wrist or in the neck.
      2. A regular or rhythmical beating.
      3. A single beat or throb.
      1. The act of vibrating.
      2. The condition of being vibrated.
      3. A rapid linear motion of a particle or of an elastic solid about an equilibrium position.
      1. To beat rapidly or violently, as the heart; pound.
      2. To feel or be subjected to a pulsating pain:
      3. To vibrate, pulsate, or sound with a steady pronounced rhythm:
      1. An impelling force; an impulse.
      2. The force or energy associated with a moving body.
      3. Something that incites; a stimulus.
      1. To rise and move in a billowing or swelling manner.
      2. To roll or be tossed about on waves, as a boat.
      3. To move like advancing waves:
      1. To push or drive quickly and forcefully:
      2. To cause to project or extend:
      3. To force into a specified condition or situation:
      1. To apply pressure against (something), especially for the purpose of moving it:
      2. To move (something) by exerting force against it; thrust or shove:
      3. To exert downward pressure on (a button or keyboard, for example); press.
    See also:

    incentive

    beat

  2. A sudden urge

    See also:

    inclination

    desire

© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sentence Examples

  • She combed Destiny's hair into pig tails, and then on impulse, did the same with hers.

  • She resisted the impulse to check her watch.

  • On an impulse, she leaned down and kissed them.

  • That impulse was reasonable.

  • On an impulse, he turned and looked at the family seated near his table still enjoying their meal.

More sentences →

Words that mention impulse in the Dictionary

Words near impulse in the Thesaurus