impetus
Use Impetus in a sentence
pɪ noun, plural im·pe·tus·es.
1.
a moving force; impulse; stimulus: The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.
2.
(broadly) the momentum of a moving body, especially with reference to the cause of motion.
Origin:
1650–60; < Latin: an attack, literally, a rushing into, perhaps by haplology from *impetitus (though the expected form would be *impetītus; see appetite), equivalent to impetī-, variant stem of impetere to attack (im- im-1 + petere to make for, assault) + -tus suffix of v. action
1650–60; < Latin: an attack, literally, a rushing into, perhaps by haplology from *impetitus (though the expected form would be *impetītus; see appetite), equivalent to impetī-, variant stem of impetere to attack (im- im-1 + petere to make for, assault) + -tus suffix of v. action
Synonyms
1. stimulation, spur, boost.
1. stimulation, spur, boost.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To impetus
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Impetus
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So is principal. Does it mean:
| first or highest in rank, importance or value |
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Collins
World English Dictionary
impetus (ˈɪmpɪtəs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -tuses | |
| 1. | an impelling movement or force; incentive or impulse; stimulus |
| 2. | physics the force that sets a body in motion or that tends to resist changes in a body's motion |
| [C17: from Latin: attack, from impetere to assail, from | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
impetus
1641, from L. impetus "attack, assault, onset, impulse, violence, vigor, force, passion," related to impetere "to attack," from in- "into" + petere "aim for, rush at" (see petition).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
When news of this seeped out, the reaction gave impetus to a surge of opposition that swept the government from power.
But its real impetus seems to be fears on the right about the country's minority populations.
His conducting was spacious too, though perhaps lacking something in tension and impetus.
In the forties and fifties a lot of the impetus behind the organizing on behalf of social equality was catalyzed by unions.
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