26984 words

impulse

8 definitions • 7 examples
1
a sudden strong wish to do something:

Examples:

impulse to I had this sudden impulse to shout out "Nonsense!" in the middle of her speech.
2
because you suddenly want to, although you haven't planned to:

Examples:

"I didn't know you were looking for some new shoes." "Oh, I wasn't - I just bought them on impulse."
4
something that is the force behind or reason for something else:

Examples:

a creative/commercial impulse
5
a sudden, strong desire to do something:

Examples:

[ + to infinitive ] I had this impulse to dye my hair red.
6
If you do something on impulse, you do it because you suddenly want to:

Examples:

[ U ] I bought this expensive sweater on impulse.
8
the force that is working on an object multiplied by the amount of time it is working

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