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impetuous - 4 dictionary results

im⋅pet⋅u⋅ous

  [im-pech-oo-uhs]
Use impetuous in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or characterized by sudden or rash action, emotion, etc.; impulsive: an impetuous decision; an impetuous person.
2. having great impetus; moving with great force; violent: the impetuous winds.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < AF < LL impetuōsus, equiv. to L impetu(s) impetus + -ōsus -ous

Related forms:
im⋅pet⋅u⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
im⋅pet⋅u⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. eager, headlong. Impetuous, impulsive both refer to persons who are hasty and precipitate in action, or to actions not preceded by thought. Impetuous suggests eagerness, violence, rashness: impetuous vivacity; impetuous desire; impetuous words. Impulsive emphasizes spontaneity and lack of reflection: an impulsive act of generosity.

Antonyms:
1. planned, careful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To impetuous
im·pet·u·ous   (ĭm-pěch'ōō-əs)   
adj.  
  1. Characterized by sudden and forceful energy or emotion; impulsive and passionate.
  2. Having or marked by violent force: impetuous, heaving waves.

[Middle English, violent, from Old French impetueux, from Late Latin impetuōsus, from Latin impetus, impetus; see impetus.]
im·pet'u·ous·ly adv., im·pet'u·ous·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives describe abruptness or lack of deliberation. Impetuous suggests forceful impulsiveness or impatience: "[a race driver who was] flamboyant, impetuous, disdainful of death" (Jim Murray).
Heedless implies carelessness or lack of responsibility or proper regard for consequences: "Hobbling down stairs with heedless haste, I set my foot full in a pail of water" (Richard Steele).
Hasty and headlong both stress hurried, often reckless action: "Hasty marriage seldom proveth well" (Shakespeare). "In his headlong flight down the circular staircase, ... [he] had pitched forward violently, struck his head against the door to the east veranda, and probably broken his neck" (Mary Roberts Rinehart).
Precipitate suggests impulsiveness and lack of due reflection: a precipitate decision.
Sudden applies to what becomes apparent abruptly or unexpectedly: is given to sudden paroxysms of anger.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Impetuous

Im*pet"u*ous\, a. [F. impetueux, L. impetuosus. See Impetus.]

1. Rushing with force and violence; moving with impetus; furious; forcible; violent; as, an impetuous wind; an impetuous torrent.

Went pouring forward with impetuous speed. --Byron.

2. Vehement in feeling; hasty; passionate; violent; as, a man of impetuous temper.

The people, on their holidays, Impetuous, insolent, unquenchable. --Milton.

Syn: Forcible; rapid; hasty; precipitate; furious; boisterous; violent; raging; fierce; passionate. -- Im*pet"u*ous*ly, adv. -- Im*pet"u*ous*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : impetuous
Spanish: impetuoso,
German: ungestüm,
Japanese: 性急な
More Translations »

impetuous 
c.1489, from M.Fr. impétueux (13c.), from L.L. impetuosus "impetuous, violent," from L. impetus "attack" (see impetus).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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