impulse
the influence of a particular feeling, mental state, etc.: to act under a generous impulse; to strike out at someone from an angry impulse.
sudden, involuntary inclination prompting to action: to be swayed by impulse.
an instance of this.
a psychic drive or instinctual urge.
an impelling action or force, driving onward or inducing motion.
the effect of an impelling force; motion induced; impetus given.
Physiology. a progressive wave of excitation over a nerve or muscle fiber, having either a stimulating or inhibitory effect.
Mechanics. the product of the average force acting upon a body and the time during which it acts, equivalent to the change in the momentum of the body produced by such a force.
Electricity. a single, usually sudden, flow of current in one direction.
marked by or acting on impulse: an impulse buyer.
bought or acquired on impulse: To reduce expenses, shun impulse items when shopping.
Origin of impulse
1Words Nearby impulse
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use impulse in a sentence
Not long after, renowned American philosopher William James wrote in his essay “The Moral Equivalent of War” that Americans should redirect their combative impulses away from their fellow humans and onto “Nature.”
They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen? | by Elizabeth Weil | August 28, 2020 | ProPublicaThe impulse to help is wonderful—so make sure you put it to good use.
Hurricane Laura is the strongest storm to hit Louisiana in more than a century | Sara Chodosh | August 28, 2020 | Popular-ScienceSometimes that means putting a lid on harmful impulses and urges that arise from the limbic area.
On each site, people moved by the very human impulse to care about vulnerable children began repeating what they saw to their friends and followers.
Evangelicals are looking for answers online. They’re finding QAnon instead. | Abby Ohlheiser | August 26, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewIf we hope to live in a society that is better than its worst impulses, we must use this awful moment to drive and accelerate positive change.
The impulse to interpret seems to me what makes personal essay writing compelling.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination | Mindy Farabee | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn “Not What It Used To Be,” you write about talking to your younger self, which is an impulse I think many of us will understand.
Meghan Daum On Tackling The Unspeakable Parts Of Life | David Yaffe | December 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd I was wondering how you combat that impulse to reject the young?
Martin Amis Talks About Nazis, Novels, and Cute Babies | Ronald K. Fried | October 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe question is not whether they are right or wrong but why they feel an impulse to dispense their advice in the first place.
As to whether the MRAP was an impulse buy, Ms. Kroemer assured me it was not.
Why Does My Kids’ Elementary School Need a Tank? | Andy Hinds | September 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo reproduce the impulse born of the thought—this is the aim of a psychological method.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge SouthwickGenoa has but recently and partially felt the new impulse, yet even here the march of improvement is visible.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyIt is the dramatic impulse of childhood endeavouring to bring life into the dulness of the serious hours.
Children's Ways | James SullyThose in whom the impulse is strong and dominant are perhaps those who in later years make the good society actors.
Children's Ways | James SullyThis impulse to extend rule appears more plainly in many of the little ceremonial observances of the child.
Children's Ways | James Sully
British Dictionary definitions for impulse
/ (ˈɪmpʌls) /
an impelling force or motion; thrust; impetus
a sudden desire, whim, or inclination: I bought it on an impulse
an instinctive drive; urge
tendency; current; trend
physics
the product of the average magnitude of a force acting on a body and the time for which it acts
the change in the momentum of a body as a result of a force acting upon it for a short period of time
physiol See nerve impulse
electronics a less common word for pulse 1 (def. 2)
on impulse spontaneously or impulsively
Origin of impulse
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for impulse
[ ĭm′pŭls′ ]
A sudden flow of electrical current in one direction.
An electrical signal traveling along the axon of a neuron. Nerve impulses excite or inhibit activity in other neurons or in the tissues of the body, such as muscles and glands.
The change of momentum of a body or physical system over a time interval in classical mechanics, equal to the force applied times the length of the time interval over which it is applied.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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