impel

[ im-pel ]
See synonyms for: impelimpelledimpelling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),im·pelled, im·pel·ling.
  1. to drive or urge forward; press on; incite or constrain to action.

  2. to drive or cause to move onward; propel; impart motion to.

Origin of impel

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English impellen, from Latin impellere “to strike against, set in motion,” from im- im-1 + pellere “to strike, move”; cf. pulse1

synonym study For impel

1. See compel.

Other words for impel

Opposites for impel

Other words from impel

  • un·im·pelled, adjective

Words that may be confused with impel

Words Nearby impel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use impel in a sentence

  • He saw enough in her face to impel him to take her hand and hold it while he said his lingering good night.

  • The characters which crowd forth from his brain are sustained and impelled by the same social waves which sustain and impel us.

    Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
  • You alone, Madam, had the power to conquer my indolence, and to impel me to change my resolution.

    Letters To Eugenia | Paul Henri Thiry Holbach
  • Resist that inclination which seems to impel you to gloomy meditation, solitude, and melancholy.

    Letters To Eugenia | Paul Henri Thiry Holbach
  • Various motives impel the living to treat with respect the body from which life has departed.

    The Myths of the New World | Daniel G. Brinton

British Dictionary definitions for impel

impel

/ (ɪmˈpɛl) /


verb-pels, -pelling or -pelled (tr)
  1. to urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate

  2. to push, drive, or force into motion

Origin of impel

1
C15: from Latin impellere to push against, drive forward, from im- (in) + pellere to drive, push, strike

Derived forms of impel

  • impellent, noun, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012